Mamdani LEGALIZES “Illegal Vendors”… as 19 Grocery Stores LEAVE NYC FOREVER

New York City's grocery stores are closing. Listen to this.

Marvin Cruz says in front of his food fair fresh supermarket, he counts 30 unregulated vendors who leave boxes everywhere. He says there's garbage all over the ground,

including old fruit and eggs.

They don't have no refrigeration, and they're selling multiple different items. I've even seen vendors selling eggs not refrigerated. A mess of box, they block in the sidewalk,

they have, they don't pick up their garbage. Cruz claims his constant request for urgent help from city officials is ignored and he's just trying to hang in there. We love the community,

we invested in the community, we want to be part of the community, we need help.

The Cruz tells Tenten Winds if some kind of help doesn't come soon his supermarkets gonna close

One shot and ten wins so you have a situation where there are so many people illegally selling things on the sidewalks that legitimate businesses can no longer

Operate and here's why that's happening a sigh of relief for street vendors as selling goods on the street without a license No longer comes with the threat of criminal charges or being arrested by police. It's part of a series

of bills passed by the council to rein in the city's long-standing vendor issues.

How is this reining it in?

They say it's a relief that people aren't calling the police on them anymore so they can work in peace. They say when police did come, people would run scared, leaving their money or merchandise that would get taken. They say it's more peaceful now to not feel like a criminal just trying to survive. With those vendors and the folks who help them, they say not being criminalized is great, but there's still a lot of issues these vendors face.

So they've decriminalized street vending. You're still not supposed to do it, but now that it's not a criminal offense, there's no more enforcement and vendors are literally everywhere. And if you go to certain parts of town like the notorious Canal Street, there are more vendors there than ever before. I was just there and they have taken over the sidewalks on both sides of the street. You cannot walk down the street to get into the legitimate businesses that line the sidewalks where people pay full rent.

Now think about that for a second. How does a legitimate business that's got to pay thousands of dollars a month in rent survive competing with people selling the exact same stuff or in some cases counterfeit knockoff versions of the stuff inside the store, outside the store and more fear.

Now currently NYPD parks and DSNY have jurisdiction over street vendors. According to DSNY, the law won't stop their civil enforcement, which can involve breaking down vendor setups, issuing fines and tossing food deemed unsafe. She says the fines would be huge, sometimes thousands of dollars. She says she applied for the permit two years ago, and she's still waiting. A separate bill to cut down on the waiting list

for those permits, which can take as long as 10 years,

is also moving through the city council.

So the reason that we have permits for street vending is so that there are not too many street vendors in certain parts of town that might get in the way of sidewalks and legitimate businesses. But now that we're not going to enforce any of the rules and people are just going to get tickets, you essentially have a system where everybody has a permit to do street

vending as long as they're willing to pay a few fines every now and then. You see, this is just a money generating scheme for a broke city and because it's a sanctuary city since this is no longer a criminal event, when you get stopped for selling stuff on the side of the road that came from who knows where, you'll no longer have a criminal record,

which might pop you up in ISIS system and have you get deported faster.

Will no longer face the possibility of jail time

for minor violations.

Yeah, no more jail.

I'm not a criminal. I was just doing, you know, my job trying to provide for my family. Just doing an honest living. An honest living. Illegally.

Illegally. And expanded his business to four locations across the city. Okay, maybe he's got legal businesses.

He's received several summonses over the years. They can give you a criminal ticket for any reason. Let's say if you're not hanging your license, you know, let's say if you are one feet more close to the crosswalk. Let's say we were supposed to be 10 feet, right? So it would say if I'm a 9 feet. If you come the cops stop by and say you're 9 feet, okay I give you a criminal ticket.

So this gentleman that is a food vendors upset that if you don't have your license you can get in trouble for that. Well, people need to have a license so that folks know that you're a legitimate business and you're not scamming people. And then, you're too close to the sidewalk. He's upset that you could get a ticket or be subject to enforcement. Well, if there's no enforcement, the city becomes unworkable and we end up with the types of congestion on the sidewalks that you're seeing in New York right now.

Meanwhile here in New York City, you also have all these people. This is the famous Canal Street. Look, now they start freaking out because I put a camera on their face. But they sell all this stuff, counterfeit goods. Meanwhile, all this madness is happening here in New York City. Nothing ever gets solved.

They let criminals do whatever. They decriminalize crime. They're selling fraudulent goods not paying taxes on it meanwhile you're working hard right now but these guys are able to make loads of cash. They pocket it all in their pocket without ever even having to pay tax so then watch as soon as I put a camera on any of these fraudsters, these scammers watch how they just freak out. How much? Show your face, no face? How come?

Look they make lots of cash. These guys are rolling man. freak out. How much? Show your face, no face? How come? How come?

Look, they make lots of cash. They know they're doing stuff wrong, that's why they won't show their faces here on camera.

They're making thousands of dollars.

Look, how much?

Look, they're in front of the bank! They're in front of the Chase Bank. I guess that makes sense, since these guys are cash only and you're gonna need to hit up an ATM. Actually, I guess this is bad for the bank. They're only taking money out to spend it on the streets. They might not be putting any back in.

How much?

Look at this.

What's wrong?

That's illegal.

You know something's wrong? They know they're doing stuff wrong, that's why they all freak out. You have a stuf New York City right now. You have a mayor who's not condemning anything.

Everything that happens here now is allowed in the name of equity and justice.

Advocates say this will protect an industry that is overwhelmingly made up of immigrants.

It's a huge step towards equity and justice for immigrants in New York City who now no longer have to fear going to criminal court for something as simple as serving tamales

to provide for their families. According to the street vendor project, there are 23,000 vendors across the five boroughs and last year alone, the NYPD issued

more than 3600 vending related criminal summonses.

If you are in immigration proceedings, then that's also something that will show up on your record anytime.

See, that's it. They don't want people that are in the country illegally to get a criminal summons for selling something on the street that they're not supposed to be selling and then to have ICE get wind of it. That's what's really going on here. And it's happening at the expense of who?

At the expense of legitimate businesses or people that maybe want to walk down the sidewalk but don't want to walk through a congested marketplace for some reason. But just before we continue, you already know why people are moving to crypto.

But there's a problem. Most crypto wallets plug into the same system everyone's running from in the first place. And that's why Rumble built Rumble Wallet. It's a self-custodial wallet that actually lives inside an ecosystem that defends free speech and financial freedom.

No bank holding your balance, not even Rumble itself can touch your funds. We're talking your money, your keys, your terms. If you're already using Bitcoin and stable coins, Rumble Wallet gives you even more power. There's direct, fast tipping support

for creators right on Rumble, without the creators having to wait weeks or even months for random payouts. Plus it offers on-chain payments in Bitcoin, TetherGold, and USAT. So you can move globally

without having to ask anyone for permission. And while most wallets stop at storage, RumbleWallet connects your money with a marketplace of ideas that will never cave to censorship. So if you're serious about sovereignty,

both financial and digital, this is where to level up. Check out right here, wallet.rumble.com or search RumbleWallet in your app store of choice. Download it, back up your recovery phrase, and keep your money where it belongs. In your hands, RumbleWallet is a technology provider only, and not a custodial service. See the full terms at wallet.rumble.com.

Now, let's get back to the video.

Now Mayor Zoran Mamdani says he has hard data to back up what too many New Yorkers like Washington feel. At an event at Medgar Evers College, he released two related reports, one a citywide racial equity plan and two a quote true cost of living measure. The report shows that it costs one hundred fifty nine thousand one hundred ninety seven dollars for the median family with children to afford the city. The report also showed that a slight majority of white families are getting by with those numbers, but large majority of black, Hispanic,

and AAPI families are not.

It inspires us to redouble our commitments in two ways. One is to ensure that as many New Yorkers in this city as possible can earn a living wage so that they can actually keep up with the cost of living in the city and two is to tackle the costs that are pushing that cost of living so high. The mayor

says that explains his focus on universal child care and housing two of the biggest reasons the

city is so expensive. So uh this equity plan it's already caught the eye of the Trump administration it says there's a whole bunch of DEI that's going to be included in this plan. The Department of Justice says that has no place in our society and the Civil Rights Division is going to be looking at this. The plan suggests increasing the number of city teachers who receive professional learning in implicit bias and culturally relevant pedagogy.

The plan also says New York's history has been one of colonization, exploitation, and racial oppression. This has some people really worried about the direction of the city.

It's that time almost 100 days in when new mayors face their first job approval ratings.

It's very frightening right now.

I like him.

I like his smile,

I think he's got good energy.

According to a new first poll, 48% of New Yorkers approve of Mayor Mondani's job.

Okay.

30% disapprove, 23% are unsure.

So half love him.

I think it's a good start, given that he's net positive by 18 points, that's good.

Okay.

Mondani's 48% approval rating is lower than that of Mayor Eric Adams who had 61% at the same point in his term.

Interesting. Now you gotta keep in mind that right now in 2026, 12 years after Mayor Bill de Blasio was brought in who was the most progressive mayor we'd ever had in history. Mayor Bob Donnie is actually doing worse than he was and people voted for him big time. And I guess even in a city of radicalized voters that went all in on communism, things still aren't working out the way they want.

I do believe he's bringing a lot of effort, especially with the child care.

Our unscientific- What does that mean? Streets reflected what the mayor's poll found, more than half saying they have a favorable

view of the new mayor.

Yeah, I believe it. 74% say he works hard.

We've looked to be ambitious, unrelenting, and move at the same speed as New Yorkers

do. But the problem is none of the stuff that he's working on actually works when people are asking him about affordability. Says he wants to make sure wages go up, which means they wanna raise the minimum wage here, which is just gonna make it harder for the businesses that you can't even get to because of all the illegal vending taking place in front of them that nobody's going to enforce. It's like every single thing the mayor wants to do is bad for these businesses. Love him, he's very smart, good looking, very articulate.

Is there anything that he's done that will impact your life so far?

Yeah, affordability is just very important to me.

How do you feel Mayor Mamdani is doing?

50-50, it was just a little manipulative considering that he never really had the ability to do

a lot of the things he was promising.

The mayor's poll.

They found someone who says the mayor over promised and hasn't delivered, which means that people really want those free grocery stores. I guess you might have to have a free grocery store if the legitimate stores all shut down. The city will just raise taxes and put in a free one and say, hey, we did it.

Find 60% or more think Mamdani is a good leader for fulfilling campaign promises, working to represent all New Yorkers, that he understands the city's problems and is doing more.

He's headed for a second term, man.

City.

But if the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers believe all of those things about Mamdani, why is his job approval rating at 48%?

His image was very strong in terms of a lot of factors, governing somewhat different.

The poll found 49% of Jewish voters disapprove of Mamdani's performance.

There's a tremendous amount of anti-Semitism in New York,

and I don't think our mayor is addressing it properly. When judging their mayor, some voters say they need at least another 100 days.

Well look, he won the election. And it's not like a bunch of voters who just went all in on communism are gonna turn around and vote for somebody like President Trump. If that person wants to be mayor here, no, that person will lose. You have to be a sanctuary mayor who wants to do everything you can to tax businesses and punish achievers and give that money out or at least promise it to the people who are voting for you. See, voting for other people's money is the way that you

get power in New York City. If you say you're going to take other people's money and give it to the voters, that's what they're doing. That's what they think their plan is here for success. But these approval numbers have given the city council, at least some of the city council, the wherewithal to resist a little bit, a tiny bit of the mayor's agenda. Watch this. We have said a hard no to raising property

taxes 9.5%. A hard no. That is unacceptable. Another escalation in the simmering tensions between Mayor Mamdani and Julie Menon as the moderate council speaker took her father him over the budget to the National Action Network Convention. Menon putting her opposition to the mayor's proposed property tax hike in stark racial terms. If we were to do that

we would be hurting black communities across our city. We'd also be hurting small businesses. 5,000 small businesses, many of which are black owned, have closed last year. 5,000.

So let's raise taxes on them.

25,000 jobs have been lost, mainly in the black community.

Mennon and Mamdani have tangled over competing budget proposals.

She's using his own tactics against him, which is interesting because Mamdani is actually to the left of the most left-leaning city council in any major city in America.

The mayor insisting he needs Albany to approve taxing the rich and corporations to close his budget gap and threatening to raise property taxes if they don't. Oh yeah. Menon says no new taxes are needed. Her plan focuses on efficiencies and reforms. Oh Oh yeah Wow

Service cuts. The thing that will never be in question for me are the cutting of essential services to New Yorkers.

What that means is if the city has to save money because it's run out of other people's money, that plan is not gonna happen.

They're gonna raise taxes to get that money so that they can spend it. They've got a list of things that they want to spend money on and nobody's going to stop them. That's what you're hearing right here. We will never allow a New Yorker to have to go to sleep wondering whether those kinds of services will be in doubt. What about wondering if they have enough money in their bank account? Hard no to raising property taxes. When we put forward our preliminary budget on February 17th. I said then what I'll say now which is that it is a path of last resort. One that we will spend every single day looking to avoid as we pursue a path of working with Albany to increase taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, the most profitable corporations.

Yeah right but the problem with that is if your goal is to increase taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and that's your plan wheniest New Yorkers. And that's your plan. When those New Yorkers leave, these are now the wealthiest people. So now you have to raise taxes on them. And when they leave, oh, now these are the wealthiest New Yorkers. You see, and now you gotta raise taxes on them. And pretty soon you have no more middle class, but you still have all of the things you wanna

spend people's money on. Now the mayor still has time to rethink his budget until he sees what he gets from Albany. But there is still one irrefutable fact. He can't- He's not gonna do that. Turn the budget down the council's throat. They have to approve it and he'll have to negotiate with a speaker whose politics are far more moderate than his.

Guys.

A very experienced speaker in the political world.

Far more moderate. I don't know about that. They all want the same things. They're just afraid to promise too much of other people's money because then they're going to go and have to take it from their own voters and they're going to lose votes. You see, so everybody here, they're just trying to stay in power. They're just trying to do everything they can to maintain political energy and momentum. They smell some blood in the water. They see that people don't want property taxes so now

they come out in favor of not raising property taxes but look the writing is on the wall for this place. 9.5% is what they're saying they don't want to raise it by. Well what about 4.2%? What if that comes up in a year? It's half. This is just the warm-up for taking money out of people's pockets down the line. People are talking about it now. They're all excited about it. Everybody here wants to see the wealthiest New Yorkers get taxed, not understanding that eventually everybody is going to have to pay for that. What do you think? I will see you in the

eventually everybody is going to have to pay for that. What do you think? I will see you in the next video.