NYC’s Urban Omnibus generously gave me the floor to write about the process of working with the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) and The Street Vendor Project to create a fold-out poster demystifying the regulations of street vending in New York City. None of it could have happened without CUP’s Making Policy Public program, which pairs designers and advocates to collaborate and make information on public policy truly public: accessible, meaningful, and shared.

I spent five months collaborating with these guys, better understanding the rough-and-tumble challenges vendors face, and speaking with vendors like Munnu (above) who sells hot dogs and pretzels at the corner of Lafayette and Reade. He moved to NYC from Bangladesh and has been a street vendor for 17 years, but it hasn’t been easy. Simple violations like parking your cart more than 18 inches from the curb or not “conspicuously” wearing your vending license can lead to steep fines. “One time I got a ticket because my jacket covered my license, and then I have to pay $1000 fine,” he said, “Do you have $1000 in your pocket? You don’t have it! I don’t have it! This hand makes money and the other hand finishes it very fast. How do they think I can give so much?” Check it out here!

design, law & order, NYC, print