By Michael V. Cusenza
City Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) last week voted against Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of a vendor enforcement bill, joining a majority of the council in voting to override Hizzoner’s opposition of the legislation.
Last Wednesday, the council voted to countermand Adams’ vetoes of three bills that together will repeal the excessive misdemeanor criminal penalties for street vending and extend the same wage and workplace protections food delivery workers currently enjoy to grocery delivery workers.
“Mayor Adams’ vetoes were another example of him prioritizing Trump’s agenda above our city by disregarding the work of his own administration on these bills and harming working-class New Yorkers,” said Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. “Working alongside our city’s workers and small business owners, the council is again acting as the reliable leaders in our city to advance pay equity and a sustainable delivery industry, while protecting our residents from Trump administration abuses. The council’s override of the mayor’s senseless vetoes enact these laws that advance and protect the working people of our city.”
In remarks posted to Twitter, Ariola blasted Adams for using his veto power “as little more than political theater.”
“If the mayor really cared about using his mayoral power to benefit the people of this city, he would have used it to help get our unvaccinated workers back on the job. He would have used it to mitigate the impact of the migrant crisis when our city was being unsustainably swamped. He could have used it in so many ways over the past three and a half years, but he didn’t. Now that it is an election year, however, he decides to pretend he is doing something? LAUGHABLE,” she wrote. “And for those who are saying this hurts businesses—allow me to explain something. This bill increases the fines levied on vendors who continually vend without a license, issuing a penalty of more than $250 per day that they sell illegally—more than double what was previously allowed. It allows NYPD and DSNY officers to confiscate goods from illegal vendors. The prior criminal summonses issued did little to nothing to stem the vending issue. Often, these things were tossed out in court, and those who refuted the law likely wouldn’t bother showing up to court in the first place. Seizing property on the spot, however, ensures that vendors are penalized immediately. If the mayor wanted to do something, he can now remove the vendors on the spot, which is exactly what this legislation allows. He’s had the tool of criminal summonses for years and how has that worked out? Change is needed and this is the change that will make an impact.”
Councilwoman Jennifer Gutiérrez (D-Queens and Brooklyn), added, “For a mayor who loves to brand himself as a champion of working-class New Yorkers, these vetoes weren’t just disappointing — they were a slap in the face. These bills were designed to protect the very delivery workers his own administration once claimed they wanted to help. That City Hall is now wasting energy trying to block its own idea is as cynical as it gets. The Council will do what we always do — stand up for workers and override these vetoes, because New Yorkers deserve better than political backpedaling.”
