After the widespread outrage stemming from the arrest of two subway churro vendors and a candy seller, clergy and community leaders called for a meeting with NYPD’s Chief of Transit Edward Delatorre. On Thursday, they got that meeting, which lasted an hour and a half.
Delatorre and half-a-dozen community leaders emerged from an elevator at the Brooklyn offices of the MTA, shook hands, and hugged.
“That’s what we’re asking folks, to be able to have a heart for the subway performer, have a heart for the young person that’s selling candy, have a heart for the young ladies that’s selling churros in our city,” said the Reverend Kevin McCall, who organized the meeting. “Don't arrest them, but provide solutions and resources.”
According to McCall, Delatorre didn’t want to leave the meeting “because he wanted to talk about different ideas and how he can better New York City.”
McCall said Delatorre also committed to meet with subway food vendors and community leaders in every borough except Staten Island—starting with Manhattan, followed by Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The exact dates of the churro summit will be scheduled next week, McCall said.
McCall added he’s confident there will be change, because Delatorre “has a heart.”
He’s also hoping the city will provide resources for food vendors the way it does for homeless outreach.
“Through Neighborhood Policing, transit officers work closely with riders, businesses and community based organizations to address issues that arise in the subway system and provide a safe environment for the roughly six million daily riders,” a spokesperson for the NYPD wrote to Gothamist/WNYC. “We agreed to meet with vendors in partnership with other city agencies and local leaders to identify options that would avoid violation of MTA rules and regulations.”
When asked for a response to Delatorre’s pledge to meet with subway food vendors, a spokesman for the MTA directed Gothamist to the NYPD for comment.
The MTA board is expected to approve funding for hiring 500 more MTA police, to address “quality of life” and safety issues. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the hires in September.
“The feeling that Delatorre also committed to meet with subway food vendors and community leaders in every borough except Staten Island subways are unsafe is up. I’m hearing it all over, and I think the additional MTA police will be helpful in that regard,” Cuomo said earlier this month. (Overall crime in the subway system is lower than it was last year.)
Pressed on the arrest of the churro vendors, Cuomo’s office has insisted that enforcement of the MTA’s no-vending rule is not the goal of the increased police presence. Mayor Bill de Blasio has said the MTA should create zones for selling food, but has resisted calls to create more food vending licenses.
MTA Chairman Pat Foye has said subway platforms are already crowded, and the MTA worries about vermin, but it’s open to any proposal the city comes up with.
“We applaud Chief Delatorre and the Police Department for continuing to engage with community members on this critical issue. As the Mayor promised, the City will be submitting a proposal to the MTA outlining our call for the agency to create vending zones in the coming days,” City Hall spokesperson Olivia Lapeyrolerie said in a statement.
