Free Talk Live

In what the Street Vendor Project is describing as the first salvo in an imminent crackdown, a roasted peanut vendor in Lower Manhattan had his permit confiscated last week after he stepped away from his stand for a quick comfort break. Mohammed Shirajul Islam, who's been a vendor for the last ten years, is now in dire straits after answering nature's call at a nearby bookstore. "When got back to my cart, the permit had been scratched away," says Islam, 42. "Now I have to wait until they give me a new permit, and that could take a month. I can’t sleep. Street vending is how I provide for my family."