HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-21-2021_Open Session_General Comments_Ramsey, Benita_Street Vendors_RedactedFrom:benita ramsey
To:Public Comments
Subject:Support for SB Street Vendors
Date:Wednesday, April 21, 2021 11:13:29 AM
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Dear Mayor, City Manager, and members of the Council,
I am contacting you today to demand all council members and staff find funding to
support the San Bernardino street vendor community. Vendors are key investors that are
deeply rooted in our communities, they invest in their local community every time they
purchase food and materials at our local markets. We need to learn from cities like Los
Angeles who have used millions from their budget to invest in modernized carts and vendor
technical assistance to navigate the bureaucracy. On the evening of Friday, April 16th eight
San Bernardino Police officers criminalized street vendors by issuing misdemeanors. We
also witnessed two Business Registration staff cite people which put our folks into further
poverty.
Vendors are forced to sign contracts that compromise them and put them in further
debt. When your staff confiscates the goods of vendors that means they lose all income for
the day! How will they afford to buy permits with no income? Vendors need Carts Not
Tickets! All citations should be waived!. We call on the San Bernardino Police to stop all
enforcement operations immediately until the city and community work on solutions that are
accessible to vendors. I also ask the City Council again to amend its code and remove
enforcement power from the Police who have proven that their goal is to further criminalize
communities of color, especially Latino and immigrant people.
Sincerely,
Rev Benita Ramsey
Unity Fellowship Church
Unity Fellowship Social Justice Ministries
Rev Benita A. Ramsey
UFCC-IE
UFJM