Vendy Program 2005

The Vendy Nominees

(a complete list)

French Vendor at MacDougal & Bleecker

Pizza Vendor, 51st & Park

Coffee Vendor at W. 4th St. (E. of Wash Sq.)

Peter (hot dogs) at 96th & Central Park West

Middle Eastern cart at Broadway & Liberty

Gyro Vendors on Broadway and W. 4th

Ver oni ca’ sJ ama i ca natFr ontSt .&Pi ne

Hong Kong cake vendor on Bowery & Grand

Abdul (coffee & bagels) at 50th & 6th

Rafique (halal) 48th & Madison

Kebab Vendor on Broadway & 32nd St., Astoria

Dominics (sausage heros) on Stone & Whitehall

Jimmy (coffee & bagels) at 51st & 6th

Sammy’ s( hal a l )73r d&Br oadway

Dai syMae’ sBBQ,v ar i ousl oca t i ons

Kwik Meal on 46th & 6th

Fruit vendor at 28th & Park Avenue

Chicken Vendor on Broadway near 30th

Smoothie Vendor at Nassau & Cedar Streets

Kwik Meal II (falafel) 44th near 5th

Paki-Trini Boys at 43rd near 6th

“ Hal alMeat s”onSt e i nway&3 4t h,Que ens

Falafel Vendor at 30th & Broadway

Sophia Laskaris (shish kabob) on Fulton & Water

Adam (breakfast) at 68th & 3rd

Coffee & Bagel Vendor at 32nd & 7th

Sam (korean-american food) at Stanton & Ludlow

Faycal Khechai (chicken) at 69th & York

Mexican Food Vendor at Westchester & Ward, Bx

John (middle eastern) at 56th & 7th

“ TheChi c kenMa n”at28t h&Madi s on

Middle Eastern Food Vendor at 5th Ave & 21st

Halal Food Vendor at 76th & Ninth

Tamales Oaxenquenos at 46th near 5th, Bklyn

Tamale Vendor at 75th & Roosevelt, Queens

Moi s he’ sFa l af el ,46t h&6t h

Sam’ sFa l af el ,Wi l l i am St r eetnearJ ohn

Super Taco, 96th & Broadway

Veronicas Kitchen (fried fish) on New Lots Ave, Bx

The Mudtruck, Astor Place & Lafayette

Mustafa (fruit vendor) at Laguardia & Bleeker

Peanut Vendor on Bway near Waverly

Gyro Vendor at 68th & Lexington

Piedad Cano (arepas) at 79th & Roosevelt, Qns

Mei Fun Noodle Vendor, Elizabeth & Hester

Mexican Food Vendor, 50th near 6th

Kebab Vendor, Broadway & Steinway, Astoria

Hot Dog Vendor, 33rd & Park

John (american food) at 65th & Madison

Hot Dog Vendor, 57th & Broadway

Halal Food Vendor at 44th & 6th

Halal Food Vendor, 36th & 8th

Fruit Vendor at 7th Ave & 12th Street

Chinese Noodles Vendor, Catherine near Madison

“ t heHotDogKi ng”at49t h&6 t h

Philly Cheese Steak Vendor, 46th & Park

The Gianettos at 47th & Vanderbilt

Pakistani Chicken Vendor, 43rd & 6th

Hot Dog Vendor at 52nd & 8th

The Vendy Awards are dedicated to every one of the 10,000 people who work hard to sell things on the streets of New York City. Vendor power.

The Street Vendor Project

presents

The First Annual Vendy Awards November 10, 2005 at Noho United, 27 East 4th Street 7:00 - 10:30 p.m.

Program 6-7 p.m.

Press hour

7 p.m. 7–9 p.m. 9:00 p.m. 9:10 p.m. 9:15 p.m.

Doors open Eating; Judging; DJ Q spinning Welcome -- by Michael Wells Statement from Doug Lasdon Award Presentation

10:30 p.m.

The End

VIP Sponsors

Rol f “ Ha l l oBe r l i n”Ba bi e l

Marc Falcone

Goran Mandic

54th Street at Fifth Avenue

Sameer Kapoor

James Vicente

I came to New York from Germany in 1980. I had $500 in my pocket. I wanted to live with a mix of different people, not just Germans, and I knew New York is a melting pot. I had been a machinist and a truck driver in Berlin. When I got here I started working as a carpenter for $5 an hour.

the Judges Adam Kuban

Laren Spirer

Todd Coleman

Heather Tierney

Nancy Ralph

the SVP Staff Sean Basinski Judi Mukarhinda

Director Organizer

One day at lunch I had an American hot dog, and I knew that New York deserved something better. So I g o ts o meo fmymo t h e r ’ sr e c i p e s ,a p p l i e df o rav e n d o rl i c e n s e ,a n dwe n tt owo r ko nt h es t r e e t .Atf i r s t , business was not very good. People were not used to my crusty bread. The first day I made 14 dollars. But eventually I started to make more. You have to be determined and believe in what you are doing. In 1984, after a few years, I opened my first beirgarden restaurant. I have had a series of them over the years with different partners. The current one, also called Hallo Berlin, is on 10th Avenue. Eventually I would like to have a whole chain of fast food restaurants. They will be called HB Express. I met my wife at the pushcart in 1988. She is from Haiti and together we have two beautiful sons, ages 6 and 15. I hope that they will be able to continue the business one day. We live upstate in Binghamton, where we also have a restaurant. During the week I stay with my brother Wolfgang in Harlem. He came over from Germany five years ago to help me with the pushcart. My other eight brothers and sisters, and my mother, are all still back in Berlin.

About the Organization The mission of the Street Vendor Project is to advance economic justice and civil rights for all the people who sell their wares on the streets and sidewalks of New York City. This multi-ethnic group of about 10,000 New Yorkers — mostly immigrants—enlivens our city by providing convenient food and merchandise at reasonable prices. Vendors are a hallmark of our city. Yet, for many years, they have been besieged by more powerful forces. The waiting list to get some licenses is more than 20 years long. Huge swaths of the city have been closed to all vending. Every day, many vendors are arrested and prosecuted for no crime other than trying to make an honest living. Founded and run by former vendors, the Street Vendor Project is a membership-based project with mor et han 400 ac t i v e member s who ar e wor k i ng t o get hert oc r e at eav end or s ’mov ementf o r permanent change. Finding vendors in the streets and the storage garages, we hold legal workshops to educate vendors about how to combat police harassment. We publish reports and file lawsuits — and hold events like the Vendy Awards — to raise public awareness about vendors and the contribution they make to our city. We hold meetings to plan collective actions for vendors to assert their voices in the system. Finally, we help vendors grow their businesses by facilitating access to small business training and loans.

T ony“ TheDr a gon”Dr a gona s 62nd Street at Madison Avenue When I was 10 years old, I immigrated to the U.S. from Greece with my mother, father and four brothe r sa n ds i s t e r s .Fi r s t wel i v e di nCh i c a g o .I t wa sh a r df o rmyd a dt of i n dwo r kb e c a u s eh ed i d n ’ t s p e a k English very well. But he got a tip from a friend, and we all moved to New York City where he worked as a vendor selling pretzels.

The Street Vendor Project is part of the Urban Justice Center, a non-profit organization that provides legal representation and advocacy to various marginalized groups of New Yorkers. To learn more, or to find out how to volunteer, please go to streetvendor.org.

the SVP Leadership Board

When I was 28, I joined my father and brother on the street selling hot dogs and shish kabobs. First we we r ea t5 0 t ha n d5 t h ,a n dt h e na f t e ra b o u t ay e a rIg o tmyo wns p o t ,o n6 2 n da n dMa d i s o n .I ’ v eb e e n selling chicken there for the last nineteen years. One of the reasons my chicken is so popular is that so many people now are health conscious. My mother gave me the secret recipe for the marinade. And I love vending. The people I make food for are my friends —I don't see them as customers. But it is hard being a vendor. Five or six days a week, in the snow and in the winter, I am still out there. The heath department gives us tickets and the prices a r er i d i c u l o u s . I ’ dl i k et oo p e nu pah e a l t h yf a s t f o o dr e s t a u r a n t , b u t i t i sv e r yh a r d . My parents and three of my siblings have gone back to Greece. I go back every couple of years for a v i s i t .Bu tIr e a l l yl o v eNe wYo r k .Yo u ’ v eg o te v e r y t h i n gh e r e —the ocean, the mountains, the four seas o n s . I l i v ei nF l u s h i n gwi t hmywi f ea n do u rt wob o y s , a g e d1 5a n d1 6 . I l i k et op l a ys o c c e r , b u t I d o n ’ t play so much any more. Mostly I work. We also go to the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church on Northern Boulevard.

Top Row:Lut her Bol den,Khal ed Abouel khai r ,Mi chaelWel l s,Mut apha Ci sse,M’ baye Moussa, Gaye Diba, Mohammed Ali, Mohammed Miah, James Williams. Bottom Row: Josue Echavarria, Sheldon Velasquez, Illiassou Alhassane (not on board), Zenab Bangoura, Sophia Laskaris, A.J. Laskaris (not on board), Angelo Vega. Not pictured: Emad Ali & Janis Collado

Moha mme dAboue l e ni nf r om“ t heBe s tHa l a l ” Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street I was born in Egypt, and I came to the U.S. in 1981. I was looking for freedom —the freedom to talk, the f r e e d o mt oe l e c t y o u rp r e s i d e n t . Wed i d n ’ t h a v et h a t i nEg y p t . I d e c i d e dt oc o met oNe wYo r kb e c a u s eI was from Cairo and I knew I liked big cities. I wa sav e t e r i n a r i a nb a c kh o me , b u t h e r eI d i d n ’ t k n o wa n y o n e . I g o t aj o ba sab u sb o ya t ar e s t a u r a n t i n midtown. I knew I wanted to work for myself, so after a few months of that I applied for my food vendor license. I got a small pushcart and began selling hot dogs and pretzels on Fifth Avenue and 61st Street. After about ten years, me and two partners got a bigger shish-kabob cart. We set it up at 6th Avenue and 53rd Street, where we have been ever since. With all the hotels in the area, a lot of our customers were yellow cab drivers, and they began asking us to make halal food, which is prepared in accordance with Muslim law. So we did — we were the first halal pushcart in New York. Back then, halal meat was much more expensive than regular meat, but the cab drivers were most of our business. It started slow, but over time the business grew. Now we have almost as many non-Muslim as Muslims customers. People love seeing the food made right in front of them, and that is why they keep coming back. I love it that I get to deal with so many great people. I have made many friends working on this pushcart. I became a U.S. citizen in 1996. I live in Astoria with my wife and four children. We have 3 boys and a girl, ages 5, 10, 12, and 14. I like to watch soccer and walk around my neighborhood. My dream is to open a restaurant one day.

Thi r u“ Dos aMa n”Kuma r Washington Square South at Sullivan Street I immigrated to New York City from Jaffna, Sri Lanka in 1995, with my wife and daughter, after I won a green card through the diversity lottery. I worked for a travel agency in Sri Lanka, so I knew a lot about the U.S. First I worked in a gas station doing construction, then an iron factory on Long Island, then I got a job as a cook in a South Indian restaurant in Flushing. I worked there for almost five years. The restaurant business pays well but I wanted to be outside in the fresh air. I tried to get a permit to work on the street but there is a long waiting list, so I went through the process of applying for a spot in the parks. I chose Washington Square Park because it is near NYU which has a lot of international students who I knew would like my food. Some of these recipes are family recipes from my mother and my grandmother, and some are my own creations. To keep the traditional flavor of my dosas, I use a stone grinder to make the lentil-rice batter. I really love my customers, most of whom are NYU students. People love street food because they want to be able to have me create it the way they want it, right in front of them. I became a citizen in 2000 and now my life is here. I live in Flushing with my wife and daughter, who is 14. The rest of my family is still back in Sri Lanka, and there are still some things I miss. I tried to go back for the first time this year, but then the tsunami happened and I donated my travel money to a charity helping the victims. Ho p e f u l l yI c a ng ot h i sy e a r , b u t I a ma l s ot r y i n gt os a v emo n e yt ob u yab i g g e rc a r t s ot h el i n ewo n ’ t b es ol o n g . I love the water, and my best memories are of swimming in the ocean that surrounds Sri Lanka. I still love to swim, and now I go on Long Island at Jones Beach and Long Beach, which is almost as good.