Vendy Program 2006

The 2006 Vendy Nominees

(a complete list)

Pizza truck, 47th between Park & Madison

Hot dog vendor, NE corner & 72nd & York

Hot dog vendor, Poly Place East of 7th Ave, Brooklyn

Mexican tacos, 65th Street & Roosevelt Ave, Queens

Grilled chicken & beef vendor, NE Corner 57th & 7th

Falafel vendor, Worth Street & Lafayette

Sam Talbot, Stanton & Rivington

Xpress Power Lunch, Whitehall & Maiden Lane

Hallo Berlin, 54th & 5th Avenue

Moi s he’ sFal a f el ,46t h&Si x t hAv enue

Kwik Meal, 45th & Sixth Avenue

Fruit vendor, Wall Street & Broadway

Mr. Khan, 45th & Sixth Avenue

The Street Vendor Project

Angel o’ sSoul v ak i ,31s tSt .&St ei nwayAv e,Qu eens

Chinese food vendor, NE Corner Broome & Broadway

Fruit vendor, 79th & Broadway, SE corner

Gl or i a’ sMex i c a nFo od,Na s s a u&CedarSt r ee t s

Super Taco, 96th & Broadway

Halal vendor, NW corner 50th & Sixth Avenue

Spiro, 40th Street and Queens Avenue, Queens

Chicken & lamb vendor, NW Corner 57th & Eighth Ave

El Rey de Tacos, 30th Ave near 33rd Street, Queens

Power Lunch, Wall Street & Pearl Street

Breakfast vendor, Astor Place & Lafayette

Taco stand, 50th & Sixth Avenue

Michael, Bowery & Bond, SE corner

Best Halal, 53rd & Sixth Avenue

Grilled food vendor, 57th & 6th Avenue

King of Falafel & Shwarma, Broadway & 30th, Queens

Halal food vendor, 40th & Broadway

Tony Dragonas, 62nd & Madison

Halal cart, Broadway & West Houston

Indian cart, 53rd & Park, SE Corner

Geor ge’ sGy r os ,31 s tSt r eet&31s tAv en ue,Qu eens

presents

The Second Annual Vendy Awards

Halal vendor, Beaver between Broadway & New Sts. Rojas Ecuadorian, Red Hook Ball Fields

Each one of these vendors will receive a Vendy Nominee placard (at least if we can find them). Nominations for the 3rd Annual Vendy Awards will open in August, 2007 at www.streetvendor.org. Join our mailing list for reminders. The Vendy Awards are dedicated to every one of the 10,000 or so people who work hard to sell things on the streets of New York City. Vendor power.

October 22, 2006 St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery 2nd Avenue and 10th Street, NYC 6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Program 5-6 p.m.

VIP Reception

6 p.m.

Doors Open

6–8:30 p.m.

Eating, Drinking, Judging

8: 30’ i sh p. m.

Wel comebyMi chaelWel l s Benediction by Reverend Billy Short Video Presentation

Jesse, Brian & Dave Vendley (Brian, pictured) “ Ca l e x i c oCa r neAs a d a ” Wooster and Prince Streets, Soho Ages: 38, 26 and 23 Years vending: 4 months Specialty: carne asada

Award Presentation

VIP Sponsors Kenneth Puhala Juhu Thukral & Jeff Yamaguchi Jen Runne

Jason Fitz Jeffrey Zalaznick Henry Lihn Fares Zeide

Nicole Douillet

Ejim Dike

Mervin Burton

The Judges Jennifer Schiff Berg Roger Clark Todd Coleman Rachel Kleinman Nancy Ralph

Mimi Sheraton Laren Spirer Caroline Waxler Kara Zuaro

We come from a farming family in Imperial Valley, an agricultural region on the California-Me x i c ob o r d e r .I t ’ s n o t h i n ga ta l l l i k et h eCa l i f o r n i amo s tp e o p l ei ma g i n e ;i t ’ s more about rodeos and pickup trucks than surfers and mo v i es t a r s .Cu l t u r a l l yi t ’ se q u a l p a r t sMe x i c oa n dAme r ica: the Mexican side is called Mexicali; the Californian side is called Calexico. Ic a met oNe wYo r k1 2y e a r sa g o ,a n dI ’ v eb e e nc o o k i n gCa l e x i c o -style carne asada for friends since I arrived. The response I got was so enthusiastic that I started kicking around the idea of opening a little restaurant somewhere, but it was a daunting proposition for someone with no formal training or experience. Then one day, as I was standing in line at my local lunch cart, it occurred to me that carne asada would be perfect street food. I started saving money and developing a menu, and a year later, I was ready. But I c o u l d n ’ td oi ta l o n e .SoIc a l l e dmyb r o t h e r si nCa l i f o r n i aa n dt o l dt h e mmyp l a n .Th e yg o to nb o a r dr i g h t away. My brother Brian came out here first and spent many frustrating months figuring out how to get a pushcart up and running. Our youngest brother, David, followed a few months later. He and Brian live out in Astoria, and I live with my wife on the Upper East Side. Th er e s p o n s eh a sb e e nt e r r i f i c .Th ep e o p l ei nt h en e i g h b o r h o o dh a v ee mb r a c e du swi t ho p e na r ms .I t ’ s been a lot of fun, but a lot of work, too. With the exception of tortillas, we make everything from scratch. We see ourselves as part of a growing movement in New York street cuisine, one in which people bring the best recipes from home and cook them as authentically as possible. This approach has been pioneered by p e o p l el i k eRo l f f r o mHa l l oBe r l i n , Th i r ut h e“ Do s aMa n , ”a n dt h e“ Ar e p aL a d y ”o f Qu e e n s . Weh o p et oc o n tinue that with our cart, and hopefully inspire others to do the same. -Jesse Vendley

Maria Piedad Cano “ TheAr e paLa dy ” 79th Street and Roosevelt Ave, Queens Age: undisclosed Years vending: 20 Specialty: fresh corn arepas Benediction by Reverend Billy

I was born in Medellin, Colombia. I came to the U.S. in 1986 because of the violence in Colombia at the time. Back home, I worked as a trial lawyer and judge, and I was elected Mayor to the municipality of Necocli. I was also a police inspector for a time in Medellin.

Jeffrey Zalaznick

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 diverse 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. The Street Vendor Project is a membership-based project with more than 550 active members who are wor k i ngt o get h ert oc r eat eav endor s ’mov ementf o rpe r man entc hang e.Fi n di ngv e ndor si nt hes t r eet s 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 also help vendors grow their businesses by facilitating access to small business training and loans. 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. The Street Vendor Project is funded through member dues, a few private foundations, and generous individuals like you. To learn more, please go to www.streetvendor.org.

The SVP Leadership Board

When I got here, I knew a friend from Colombia who had been a secretary in one of our offices there. He Lihnthe business. Eventuwas working as a street vendor in Queens. I worked at his cart for a whileHenry and learned a l l yI s a v e de n o u g hmo n e yt ob u ymyo wnc a r t . I ’ v eb e e ns e l l i n ga r e p a sf o r2 0y e a r sn o w.

Angelo Vega, Jr.

Michael Wells

Badara Thiam

Modou Gueye

Delvin Chu

Mohammed Anwar Hussain

Myh u s b a n da n dI d i v o r c e ds h o r t l ya f t e rI g o t h e r e , s oI h a dt or a i s eo u rf o u rs o n sa l l b ymy s e l f . I d i d n ’ t h a v e a food vending license at first, so I had to run from the police a lot. We d i d n ’ th a v emo n e yf o rr e n to rf o o d . One winter, my oldest son broke his arm, and we had to depend on a church to help us with food. After that, things got a little better, but I still had to work hard - sometimes 80 hours a week.

James Williams

Mohammed Shahidullah

M’ bay eMous s a

Moustapha Cisse

Teresa Gonzales

Mohammed Ali

Ve n d i n gi sav e r yi n t e r e s t i n gj o bb e c a u s ey o ug e tt ob ei n d e p e n d e n t .Id o n ’ th a v et owo r kf o ra n y b o d y ,I work for myself, and I sell things that I like to make. But, it is also very hard to work in the street, mostly because of the weather during the winter in New York. Also, sometimes the people on the streets at night are disagreeable. But in general the people are very nice. All week I make arepas, and on Friday and Saturday nights I sell them. But I like to go to the movies with my sons and daughters in law. Three of my four sons live in New York, and two of them are married. My youngest son Douglas is now studying at Hunter College —he wants to be a laboratory technician. - translated from Spanish by Matt Furshong

Special Thanks to: Reverend Billy & Savitri Durkee, St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery, Elevated City Pl anni ng( Al ej andr oBaquer o,Gar yRot h,andSet hMy er s ) ,HE’ BREW Beer ,Har ol d Liu, Wei Shung Lin, Vikram Bhat, Rakesh Chaudhary, Sam Talbot, Christina Stevenson, and all the finalists, interns, judges, SVP board members and other vendors who helped make the 2nd Annual Vendy Awards possible.

Samiul Haque Noor

Thiru Kumar

Sa mmyf r om“ Sa mmy ’ sHa l a l ” 73rd Street and Broadway, Queens

“ TheDos aMa n” Washington Square South & Sullivan

Age: 36

Age: 38

Years in business: 6 Specialty: chicken & rice

Years in business: 5 Speciality: pondicherry dosa

I was born near Islamabad, Pakistan. I came to the U.S. in 1990 to make a better living for myself. I worked at a store for a while, cleaned offices, and then I was a taxi driver for a number of years. I knew some friends who asked me if I wanted to learn the v e n d i n gb u s i n e s s .Iwo r k e do nWo r t hSt r e e to ns o me b o d ye l s e ’ sc a r t ,t h e nn e a rUn i o nSq u a r e .Th ef o o d we made was good, but I knew I could do better by making the food more flavorful. So, I got my own cart. I decided to put it in Jackson Heights because there were no Halal carts here, even though we have many people from the Indian subcontinent. Now, there are 4 or 5 other Halal carts right around me. But I was the first. I have been in this spot for 3 1/2 years. And now I have another cart that sets up on 4th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. People say that the difference with my food is the spices. My family in Pakistan had a business that imported and exported spices, so I grew up around spices. I buy my goods at the wholesale Desi market in Maspeth. But I think the real key to the business is communication. You have to speak a lot of languages to keep up with this community —I speak Pashto, Punjabi, Urdu, and a little Spanish and Arabic. I have a wife and 2 small daughters, aged 4 and 5 1/2. They are completely beautiful —their names are Sauda and Maryiam. We live in a one-bedroom apartment in Flushing. Sometimes we go as a family to Kissena Park in Queens to ride bikes. And, my daughters love to go to Chuck E. Cheese. As for me, I play in a cricket league in Flushing Meadow Park some weekends. Most of the guys on my team are from Pakistan and Afghanistan, but we play against teams from all over –India, Guyana, the Caribbean.

I immigrated to New York City from Jaffna, Sri Lanka in 1995, with my wife and daughter, after I won a green card in 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 15. The rest of my family is still back in Sri Lanka, and there are still some things I miss. I went back to Sri Lanka for two weeks this past May — I h a d n ’ t b e e nb a c ki n1 0y e a r s . T h e r ewe r el o t so f c h a n g e s . I s t a y e dwi t hmymo m, a n d lots of relatives came by to see me. I wanted to stay longer, but I had to come back early to work with the fact o r yt h a t wa sd o i n gs o mer e n o v a t i o n so nmyp u s h c a r t . Ev e rs i n c et h eVe n d y sl a s t y e a r , I ’ v eg o t t e nal o t o f n e w business. Now I have a bigger grill that can make 3 or 4 lunches at once.