The American Dream

I heard a vendor say recently, "That a country this big would have such small ideas about street vending." I loved this statement. She said it in disbelief, but, for me, it raised some interesting questions about the limitations of our great democracy. For all our freedoms, we are still bound to less-than-progressive economic systems and monopolized commerce that lacks vision or creativity.

This is not to say that visionary markets don't exist in this country, because of course they do and we're lucky for them, but the vendor's statement seemed indicative of, what seems like, the direction of the American economy - one of branding, cronyism, and low-risk games of Monopoly.

With all the talk about American branding these days, and people from my generation and other generations fighting the corporate establishment through films, books, art, journalism and grassroots organizing, I have been under the impression that these problems are relatively recent. However, as I learn about the history of street vending in New York City, I'm discovering that our progressive city has never fully supported the entreperneurship of street vendors, considering street vending something that happened in "the old world". Mayor LaGuardia had his beef, so to speak, with vendors in the '30s, and Guiliani followed suit in the '90s. I wonder if either one of these Italian mayors celebrated the connection between their heritage and the history of pushcart peddling?

In 1925, a study was released by the United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, in cooperation with The Port of New York Authority. The report, entitled "Push Cart Markets in New York City", was originally intended to study the importance of push carts as a marketing channel for agricultural products, but it quickly grew to include insightful information about the cultural, economic, and sanitary implications of street vending in NYC.

With the population in NYC increasing from 391,000 in 1840 to 2,000,000 in 1880, local farmers were unable to accommodate the needs of the city's consumers and produce had to be shipped in from further distances. The process of bringing this produce into the city became haphazard and caused irregularities in the fruits and vegetables. This is where street vendors became important, according to this study, because they were able to take the lesser quality produce and sell it to the poorer communities, hence they helped support the greater economy AND helped to support class divisions! Isn't that great?

In my impression, vendors serve all kinds of people. The juxtaposition of stock traders on Wall Street lined up for coffee and bagels in the morning, and hot dogs and Halal express lunches at noontime, is an indication that, when it comes to tasty food made by friendly people, there is no prejudice.

Sure, the food is cheaper than Dean & Deluca. But the last time I was in Dean & Deluca, the specialized, imported produce was rotting and the place wasn't nearly as clean as some of the vending carts I've seen. So, I'm interested to explore how street vendors come under such scrutiny for having the same business sense as some of the biggest corporations in this country, and succeeding despite language barriers, police harrassment, low wages, families abroad, and very little recourse. Shouldn't they be celebrated for embodying the "American Dream"?