Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
Mayor de Blasio delivers remarks at the Iglesia El Camino Church in Brooklyn on Sunday, November 15, 2020.
Mayor de Blasio says even if federal aid flows to the city, the local government will not be in a position to provide cash benefits to families who have been boxed out of most pandemic relief.
Only 4,000 street vending permits and 5,000 street food licenses have been issued in the city since 1983.
In order to survive, people who do not qualify for any direct federal, state or municipal financial aid have turned to queuing twice a week at pantries across the five boroughs.
As more and more workers returned to their jobs last week, activists and advocates are asking the city and state to create stricter protections for employees, including access to PPE and enforcement of social distancing in workplaces.
Some immigrants who are out of work during the pandemic are using the time to take English classes. ‘To me, this has been a relief in the middle of the sad and painful situation we are enduring,’ one such student tells El Diario.
‘People tip well during this time. Many customers behave. Others, not so much, but it all depends on how you treat them.’
On Monday, New York became the 13th state to lawfully grant undocumented people the right to obtain driver’s licenses.
State Senator Jessica Ramos is promoting a bill that seeks to solve the problem by lifting the limits on the number of street vending permits currently in place for sidewalk commercial activities — an effort supported by vendors.
‘I was clear that I would be voting for the Public Advocate and the Queens District Attorney, but I did not know that there would be all these strange questions and other things about the courts, so what I did was choose all the Democrats I saw who were women,’ one voter told El Diario.
“This city needs to acknowledge that we Latinos don’t just put hot sauce on their tostadas but we also bring our music, hard work, pay taxes.” Latino New Yorkers spoke to El Diario about the biggest contributions the community makes to the city.