In the nearly two decades that Mahmoud Zaed has owned a halal food truck in New York City, he has never heard a politician speak about supporting street food vendors.
Whether it’s the expensive and arduous task of acquiring a permit to run his truck, or the constant intimidation from police officers to relocate it, Zaed said he’s had little hope that elected officials would ever address the challenges street vendors face.
Street vendors in New York City overwhelmingly belong to immigrant communities, many of whom do not have permits meaning they are at a higher risk of being fined, arrested or have their goods confiscated.
Currently, an estimated 23,000 street vendors operate on the streets of New York, with 96% of them immigrants hailing mostly from Mexico, Ecuador, Egypt and Senegal.
This January, something changed for Zaed.
“I came across this video of a guy running for Mayor,” said the 42-year-old Egyptian immigrant. “He was talking about supporting food vendors and actually addressing our real concerns.”
The man in the video was mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and the video is often credited as his mayoral campaign launch.
Dressed in a suit and tie and speaking to multiple vendors from inside their carts, often with a mouthful of halal food, Mamdani, running for the Democratic Mayoral nomination at the time, said in the video — “New York is suffering a crisis, and it’s called ‘Halal-flation.’”
Mamdani spoke about pushing for legislation to give vendors their own permits, as well as the task of making halal food more affordable.
For Zaed, Mamdani’s words were a breath of fresh air: “I shared that video with my friends and since then, we have been very excited about Zohran,” he said.
In July, after Mamdani won the Mayoral primary, Zaed joined forces with over two dozen street vendors to canvass and campaign for the Democratic nominee.
In recent weeks, Zaed and other vendors have been relentless in mobilizing street vendors in favor of Mamdani, an effort they’ve named Street Vendors for Zohran. They have dedicated their time to two simple tasks: telling street vendors about Mamdani’s promise to make it easier to get permits, and pasting “Zohran for Mayor” posters on food cart trucks for customers to see.
Among the vendors involved is Zaed’s friend, Mohamed Attia, who also runs an advocacy group called Street Vendor Action.
“Vendors are fed up with police harassment and the really high price of paying for permits. That’s why we need a progressive and pro-vendor alternative, and Zohran promises exactly that,” said 37-year-old Attia.
From the crowded 5th Avenue entrance of Central Park to the noisy corners of Times Square in Manhattan, and from the touristy Dumbo area to the busy sidewalks of Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, more halal trucks have been displaying “Zohran for Mayor” posters on the sides of their carts.
Another issue that has captured the attention of street vendors is the cost of chicken over rice, a classic halal order. In the same video that Zaed watched, Mamdani said he would bring down the price, back to $8 from the current average price of $10.
“I think [that might be] possible if he succeeds in making permits cheaper,” said Sharif, a street vendor in Dumbo who identifies only by his first name out of fear of political retribution. Sharif, however, believes that the biggest issue of halal cart vendors is the threats they face from the law enforcement agencies.
In July, Mayor Eric Adams vetoed Introduction 47-B, a legislation passed by the City Council that would have eliminated all misdemeanor criminal penalties for general and mobile food vendors, replacing them with civil fines. The City Council, however, overrode the veto and passed the legislation in September, reducing scrutiny in immigration proceedings and bringing some reprieve to vendors.
Attia believes some undocumented vendors are still very careful about expressing their political opinions, including their support for Mamdani, fearing retribution from immigration agencies.
你知道吗？非公民办理驾照时的这个错误可能会导致选民欺诈
While pasting Mamdani’s posters in the Dumbo area, Attia ran into one vendor who initially refused to put up Mamdani’s poster. But after a lengthy conversation, the vendor allowed Attia to display the poster and said he hoped the Democratic nominee would win.
Beyond their street vending businesses, some vendors are also hopeful that Mamdani will address labor issues and help tackle the city’s affordability crisis.
Ahmed Magdy, an owner of nine halal trucks across the city, said his business has been particularly affected in the last two years due to soaring costs. He believes Mamdani’s win will give vendors fresh hopes for a more affordable livelihood in New York, saying, “Inshallah, [God willing], he wins.”
