Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Sammy Kassem is a hero in an unlikely place. The Bay Ridge street vendor is also the Vendy Awards’ first honoree of 2012.  According to a statement by the Urban Justice Center, a “non-profit organization that provides legal representation and advocacy to various marginalized groups of New Yorkers,” Kassem is being honored for “his perseverance and commitment to street vendors’ rights” in the face of opposition from anti-vendor businesses in his Bay Ridge community.

The “Most Heroic Vendor” award, of which Kassem is this year’s recipient, is regularly awarded to vendors who contribute to the City’s well-being, whether it’s by “spotting fires,” “spotting car bombers” or standing up for vendors’ rights. These vendors are often the eyes and ears of the streets.

In Kassem’s case, the 21-year-old Halal food vendor is being praised for standing up to those businesses which have tried everything to “push him out,” according to the statement. These businesses partook in some regular, old-fashioned bullying, including nailing park benches to his regular vending spot. In the face of their aggressive actions, Kassem has consistently asserted he has as much of a right to make a living there, rather than back down.

“Up against circumstances that would break most people, Sammy has triumphed,” said Sean Basinski, Director of the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center.

According to the Center’s release: “vendors make hundreds of small contributions each day that often go unrecognized.” The project aims to change that fact, one heroic vendor at a time.

A number of vendors receiving awards, including Kassem, will be presented on September 15 at Governor’s Island in the Vendy Awards Ceremony.

—Alissa Fleck

Neighbors Try to Thwart Vendors with Parking Meters

Last week, Community Board 7 narrowly voted down a resolution from their transportation committee that would have recommended a major change in parking regulations on a small strip of West 68th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. The measure came about as a way to keep food vendors off of the mostly residential street, which some residents vigorously support. The resolution was to recommend that the Department of Transportation switch the street from regular alternate side parking to metered parking, making it illegal for vendors to set up there. When the measure came before the full board, however, many board members were adamantly opposed to a change that would inhibit resident parking on the street and give over spaces to temporary visitors. Despite impassioned pleas from some residents who say they’re fed up with food vendors on their street, the board ultimately rejected the measure, and the street will remain, for the time being, open to both resident parking and street vendors with the proper permits.

The UWS on Two Wheels

Local preservation advocacy group Landmark West and the American Planning Associations Members are sponsoring a bicycling tour of historic railway, subway and greenway sites on the Upper West Side next Saturday, May 12, starting at 3 p.m. The tour will be led by transportation planner and Upper West Sider Josef Szende, who will take bikers past spots historically significant to the Hudson River Railroad and the IRT subway as well as the Hudson River Greenway and the Columbus Avenue bike lane. The trip is about 10 miles long, beginning at Columbus Circle Bike & Roll, 59th Street and Central Park West, and bike rentals will be available at the start of the tour. Tickets are $15; $10 for Landmark West members. Email landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org to RSVP.

West Siders Say No to Horn Noise

Most New Yorkers would likely agree that horn-honking is one of the biggest disturbances of urban life—yet inevitable. Last week, however, West Side group CHEKPEDS (Clinton Hell’s Kitchen Coalition for Pedestrian Safety) joined forces with the Citizens Committee and Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky to try to curb the incessant honking. The groups convened at 10th Avenue and West 44th Street to lure taxi drivers with free coffee and donuts and politely worded entreaties to lay off the horns unless it’s absolutely necessary, like to prevent a collision or warn a pedestrian of oncoming danger. Citizens Committee is also upping the ante by offering implementation grants, from $500 to $3,000, to neighborhood groups with innovative ideas to reduce horn honking. Among other steps toward a more peaceful city, Yassky noted that the city’s “Taxi of Tomorrow,” the Nissan NV200 slated to hit the streets in fall of 2013, features a low-annoyance horn. Stated Citizens Committee CEO, Peter Kostmayer, “This is a small problem that we can solve on our own just by being a little more polite.”

Lincoln Square BID Annual Meeting

The Lincoln Square Business Improvement District will be holding its 15th annual meeting on Friday, May 18, at 8 a.m. Property owners, commercial tenants, businesses and residents are welcome. The BID will review the past year’s accomplishments and discuss new initiatives as well as adopt the 2012 fiscal year budget and elect directors for the coming year. Guest speakers include Thomas Farley, commissioner of the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Alair Townsend, chairwoman of the City Center of Music & Drama Inc. Fordham University, 113 W. 60th St., 12th floor. Reservations required; call 212-581-3774 or email info@lincolnsquarebid.org.

Help for Unhealthy Air

Last month, Mayor Bloomberg announced deadlines for eliminating the use of heavy heating oils, No. 6 and No. 4, in all city buildings. While these oils are used in only 10,000 of the city’s buildings, a mere 1 percent, they account for more soot pollution than car and truck usage combined. Many of these buildings are located in Manhattan, emitting a substantial amount of pollution on the

Upper East and West Sides, where many older buildings use the outdated systems that rely on these heavy fuel oils. Air pollution contributes to 6 percent of annual deaths in New York City, afflicting those exposed with ailments ranging from asthma to heart disease. NYC Clean Heat, an initiative to expedite the city’s conversion to cleaner fuels, anticipates that full compliance with these regulations will save 1,500 lives by 2030, alleviating the burden on our neighborhoods and health care system along the way. The initiative helps building owners by providing information, technical assistance, financial resources and incentives to encourage immediate action to convert heating systems before the compliance deadlines. For more information on the program, dial 311 and ask for Clean Heat, call 212-656-9202 or email info@nyccleanheat.org.

Free Breast Health Screenings

The American-Italian Cancer Foundation will be providing a mobile clinic for free mammograms and clinical breast exams on Friday, May 11, on the Upper West Side. The van will be parked near P.S. 84, at 32 W. 92nd St. To be eligible for the no-cost services, women must be age 40 or older, have a New York City mailing address, and not have undergone a mammogram within the past 12 months. Bring Medicare, Medicaid or insurance information if applicable. Appointments required; call 877-628-9090.

A vendor cart selling peanuts on the streets of New York.

As street vendors of various stripes have proliferated in recent years, the city has struggled to keep up with enforcement of laws and regulations that don’t adequately address the issues that vendors and the public who interact with them encounter. Several city council members are hoping to change that, and the Consumer Affairs Committee will be holding a hearing this Tuesday, April 24, in order to discuss seven new proposed bills and hear from the public about what they should make legislative priorities in terms of dealing with vendors.

The proposed bills strike a balance between easing up on vendors and tightening or clarifying restrictions placed on them.

“There are seven bills that are on the committee’s agenda, and the common theme of all of them is fairness—fairness to residents and businesses, fairness to vendors and fairness to taxpayers,” said Council Member Dan Garodnick, who chairs the committee and whose Upper East Side district routinely deals with a high number of vendors at popular spots along Central Park South and Fifth Avenue.

The arrivals of food vendor trucks outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in the spot where Tavern on the Green used to operate has stirred major controversy along with culinary delight among residents who debate just how these trucks should be regulated.

“We have had a real challenge on the Upper East Side of vendors who are not operating within the applicable rules, either blocking entrances or exits of buildings or simply being in other areas where they are not permitted,” Garodnick said.

The bills he has sponsored would straighten out some discrepancies in how vendors are regulated as well as clarify where, exactly, permitted vendors are allowed to set up their wares.

One bill would disallow any vendors in front of the no-standing zones outside hospitals, areas designated for patient drop-off and pick-up; another standardizes the required distance from a store’s entrance or exit at which a vendor can set up at 20 feet. Previously, that distance varied depending on multiple factors, resulting in confusion not just for vendors but for police officers trying to enforce the rules.

Garodnick has also penned a bill that would tie the holders of a vending permit (for example, the owner of a taco truck) to the holder of the vending license (the employee on site who actually makes and sells the tacos) so permit holders are held responsible for settling the fines of their licensees.

City Council Member Gale Brewer, who is sponsoring a bill that would ensure that food truck vendors are not allowed to park in taxi stand zones, said that she hears about vendor issues from constituents all the time, and that the laws aren’t always entirely clear, even to those who deal with them every day.

“I support vendors in general. It’s very hard; they have to follow the law and they have to follow protocol, although some don’t,” Brewer said. “The laws are so confusing, I think it’s good to make them as streamlined as possible.”.