They re folks we recognize. They re folks we ve come to know and really depend on to get through our days, to give New York City this vibe that it has.
Although the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act passed in March, with assistance dispersed for small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a lot of street vendors did not qualify for that, partially because of immigration status or other reasons, says Borsellino. These vendors live day by day, says Mohamed Attia, director of the SVP at the Urban Justice Center.
And many of the street vendors who are disproportionately immigrants, Black, Latino, and in some cases, undocumented, according to Borsellino are also among those most deeply affected by Covid. Borsellino notes that one in four street vendors either had Covid-19 themselves or had a close family member who did.