Testimony from the Street Vendor ProjectNew York City Council Committee on Small Businessin re Proposed Intros. 64-A & 66-AMay 11, 2006
My name is Sean Basinski and I am director of the Street Vendor Project of the Urban Justice Center,a membership-based non-profit organization with nearly 500 active, dues-paying members who areall New York City street vendors from diverse backgrounds. Thank you for inviting us to testifytoday. We are strongly in support of Proposed Intros 64-A and 66-A; they will help give small businesses a chance, especially our smallest of small businesses: our street vendors.
Proposed Intro 64-A
We strongly support Proposed Intro 64-A. For more than two years, our organization has been
fighting the ECB’s attempt to raise
vending fines to more than $1,000 per violation. This is anamount that no vendor can pay, and it is putting many hard-working people out of business becauseof simple mistakes. There may be some cases of flagrant, repeat offenders where a $1,000 fine isappropriate. But the vast majority of vending tickets we see are for minor violations
–
like havingyour license in your pocket instead of around your neck. Right now, the ECB has said that the judgesmust give the maximum fine
–
which in many cases is $500 or $750 or $1,000
per ticket
. ECB judges should be able to factor in the circumstances of each case and decide what is the appropriatefine within each range. That is what judges are supposed to do. That is why we support ProposedIntro. 64-A.
Proposed Intro 66-A
We also support Proposed Intro. 66-A. The most important piece of that proposal for the vendingcommunity is the provision to provide intepreters at ECB court. More than 80% of vendors in thiscity are immigrants, and they are often the most recent immigrants with the fewest English languageskills. Unlike in criminal court in civil court, ECB litigants are not provided with interpreters. Thisoften leads to miscarriages of justice. How can a person present a defense to the judge if he or she
does not speak English? They can’t. The simple fact is that people are being found guilty and being
forced to pay $1,000 fines because they do not speak English.The ECB has testified that it would cost too much to provide translators, but there are easy and cost-effective ways to do so. This week we spoke to two companies
1
that provide translation viatelephone, in 200 languages, 24 hours a day, for $1.50 per minute or less. In fact, the City already hasa contract with Language Service Associates for its 311 calling center! Why are people allowedaccess to 200 languages to report a pothole but not when they are facing $1,000 penalties that puttheir businesses at stake? Our estimate is that it would cost about $250,000
2
yearly to providetranslation for every street vendor who needs an interpreter at ECB. This is a tiny fraction of the $60million the ECB collects in fines every year. It is a small price for justice.Thank you for allowing us to testify today. We look forward to working with the Council to makethese bills a reality.
1
CTS Language Link from Vancouver Washington and Language Service Associates from Philadelphia.
2
The ECB hears about 12,000 vending cases every year. If half of those vendors need intepreters, and each hearinglasts for an average of 30 minutes, the total cost to ECB (at $1.50 per minute) will be $270,000.
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