Bronx Terminal Market

NYC Street Vendors Are Especially Vulnerable to ICE Raids | Eater NY

"Federal immigration officials raided this market and other locations; according to reports, at least four people were picked up, though it wasn’t immediately clear how many people had been detained in raids at two or more Bronx locations and one in Washington Heights. The action has intensified broader fear across food and retail businesses: “There is a lot of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty in the restaurant industry right now, particularly since the raid in Newark,” said Andrew Rigie, president of the NYC Hospitality Alliance. Advocates emphasize that such enforcement builds on and is facilitated by the city’s existing criminalization of street vending: “The number of criminal summonses against vendors is climbing higher and higher,” said Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, and she warned that “This type of harsh enforcement can quickly ensnare vendors and have much more drastic consequences on New Yorkers who are at risk of deportation. What at-risk vendors are facing with the Trump administration is more dangerous, but it builds upon, and is facilitated by, the city’s existing criminalization of these small businesses.” Comptroller Brad Lander criticized the municipal approach as well: “So far, we’ve only seen chaotic heavy-handed enforcement.”" - Andrea Strong