On Jan. 15, the steps of City Hall were bombarded with angry street vendors in opposition of the new legislation, Intro. 665, the “Green Cart Legislation,” declaring it insufficient, unfair and claimed it disregards the dire necessities of thousands of street vendors.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Speaker Christine Quinn and Councilman Joel Rivera presented the legislation. If passed, it would increase the current cart permit cap by a mere 1,500 and would dictate the products vendors can sell to only fruits and vegetables. That’s not enough permits, said Rafael Samanez, the director of VAMOS Unidos, a street vendor organization that has many members who work on Fordham Road.

“We do not want crumbs! We want licenses for all, the freedom to sell what we want,” Samanez said in a statement.

The vendors feel that limiting the products they are able to sell will cause them to go bankrupt. The new legislation also undermines the voices of workers that have been shouting for almost two years to pass the more broad reaching legislation, Intro 324, which would increase permits and licenses accordingly, vendors say.

Pedro Soleno, a street peddler who sells nuts along East Fordham Road, said he fears losing his business.

“This is our only way to live,” Soleno said at the rally. “I have a personal license and I sell sometimes over 10 hours a day in the streets. We are humiliated on the streets and this is not fair. We ask that the more than 15,000 vendors without these permits are given the permits.”