Street vendors have long been a part of New York’s history, but the current landscape of street vending is largely defined by the economy of the past three decades. Reactions to street vending vary across different cities worldwide, often influenced by both subjective and objective factors, leading to vendors often facing disfavor and lack of popularity. I have observed that sometimes more privileged members of society seek to remove them to create cleaner and more orderly streets and neighborhoods. This trend is particularly noticeable in cities with newly developed and heavily gentrified downtown areas.
Street vendors in New York City mainly comprise people from lower-income backgrounds who are particularly vulnerable to economic fluctuations. I was surprised when I first came across a middle-aged African-American woman selling inexpensive winter accessories at Union Square. Upon speaking with her briefly, I learned that she commutes daily from the Bronx and earns her living by braving the cold weather outdoors.
In addition to facing challenges related to their socioeconomic status, vendors are often racialized, belonging to non-dominant ethnic groups, which can lead to the perpetuation of stereotypes about them. An incident in November 2023 in Manhattan, where a former State Department employee and national security officer was caught on video verbally attacking a halal food vendor with Islamophobic comments, serves as an example of the discriminatory attitudes that street vendors can potentially face.
Motivated by the aforementioned facts and patterns, I would like to look into the types of vendor-related complaints recorded by 311 in extensive datasets. The insights gained from these findings could be beneficial to social scientists and researchers focusing on the small business market. Additionally, they could benefit agencies tasked with creating legal frameworks and regulations for licensing, sanitation, and safety. Such outcomes might be crucial for protecting the rights of both vendors and their customers.
The graph below(Graph #1) illustrates the categories of vendors that received the highest number of complaints between 2010 and 2024. When hovering over the bars, the graph provides a clear indication of the volume of categorical data in relation to continuous numerical variables. This type of bar chart enhances the ease of perceiving the information presented. The data indicates that the majority of complaints were directed towards Food Vendors and Mobile Food Vendors. Non-food vendors also represent a significant portion of the bar. However, because this category encompasses various types of non-food vendors, it is challenging to consider it as a meaningful amount.
The next graph(Graph #2) displays the categories of complaints that were most commonly received by vendors between 2010 and 2024. The most common type of complaint was related to Vendor Enforcement. A horizontal bar graph breaks down the types of complaints filed by New Yorkers. The graph uses a sequential color palette for each category of complaint, making it easier to perceive the volume of complaints filed in a given period.
The following graph(Graph #3) illustrates the times of day when the most complaints were filed, showing a slight variation with a peak around noon. The line graph enables us to observe the trends in complaints throughout the day and allows for the selection of specific categories.
Lastly, a symbol map below illustrates the distribution of service requests across boroughs and neighborhoods. The orange color of the spatially distributed circles against the gray map background enhances visibility, with color density indicating areas with the highest number of service requests. The map filter on the right enables users to select different conditions, such as neighborhoods(Community Board), the year, and the month
Visualization can assist in addressing a variety of inquiries, such as determining the months of the year when street vending receives the highest number of complaints or identifying the specific types of problematic issues that arise around street vending during a certain period.
It is evident, the years between 2021 and 2024 stand out significantly in terms of the number of complaints received. The increase in complaints during these years aligns with the period of the pandemic, which likely contributed to the surge in complaints.
In future studies, I would love to explore the income thresholds for various vendor categories to evaluate the vulnerability of this entrepreneurial group. Incorporating this analysis with the visual discoveries mentioned earlier could assist in tackling the difficulties encountered by street vendors and their clientele.
