Sen. Schumer Comes to Aid of Red Hook Vendors

It was anything but a typical Saturday at the Red Hook Ballfields as Sen. Charles Schumer dropped by to demand that the city drop plans that could lead to the eviction of its Latino food vendors. The vendors' most prominent and politically influential advocate was joined by Red Hook Vendors Committee director Cesar Fuentes, Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, food writer Ed Levine and chef Andrew Carmellini. About a half-dozen TV crews and assorted bloggers, print journalists and photographers took in the scene.

Last week, the Food Vendors Committee of Red Hook Park, which represents the 13 vendors who set up the wildly popular stands on weekends, found out that their temporary use permits, which are renewed every two weeks, won't be renewed after September 9. The Parks Department intends to switch to a long term use agreement and put it out for competitive bid. The vendors pay $1,500 a week for their permit, but the total cost of the operation for the season, including cleanup, is about $30,000. The vendors say they can't afford much higher overhead and could easily be outbid or driven out of business by higher permit cost.

"We're mom and pop stores," said Carlos Fuentes, who is head of the Red Hook Vendors Committee. "We can only afford so much and we're a very small group of vendors with very limited resources."

Sen. Schumer, who visited each of the vendors and sampled a number of dishes after he spoke, said that the vendors are a "prime example of New York grit and immigrant ingenuity. There are a lot of reasons why New York is special and many of them are rolled into one place here."

Sen. Schumer said the vendors had been part of the transformation of Red Hook from a neighborhood where notorious crimes had taken place to a safe and stable community. "We're not here to bash the Parks Department," he said. "We're here to ask them to listen to us. This is a happy place and we want to keep it this way." He called the food stands at the ballfields "a vibrant culinary and recreational landmark" that has gotten national attention. "It would be a travesty to dispose of it," the Senator said.

As Sen. Schumer spoke, he attracted a large crowd of onlookers who had come to the park to eat.

"Removing this makes no sense at all," said the Senator, who called on the Parks Department to "change the process" and not simply consider the highest bid, but the value something brings to the community. "Use common sense, not dollars and cents," he said. "I urge the Parks Department to go back to the drawing board and to preserve and protect this scene, not to replace it" with something sterile. The vendors have been in the park for three decades.

Assem. Felix Ortiz said, "We're going to stand together to makes sure that we can put a stop to the Mayor of the City of New York." Food writer Ed Levine and chef Andrew Carmellini of A Voce also called on the Parks Department to protect the beloved Red Hook institution. Mr. Levine said that the food at the ball field is "the epitome of honest food made by real people." Mr. Carmellini added that "This kind of soulful cooking is what keeps me inspired."

A Parks Department spokesperson told the Post that "Our intention is not to push out the vendors, who we appreciate and want to keep, but to comply with concession regulations." One person we spoke with accused the Parks Department staff of "elitism" in its approach to the Red Hook vendors and said the mom & pop, grassroots operation doesn't fit the department's "upscale" vision for the parks.

Sen. Schumer said he hoped the Department would find a way to make an exception to the regulation for the vendors and offered to help them find a way to do so.

Mr. Fuentes said the move to change the park to competitive bidding was "the byproduct of gentrification." The neighborhood has begun to draw more visitors in recent years and a big new Ikea will be opening down the street next year. "We thought this might eventually happen," he told GL. "This decision is about money."

Mr. Fuentes recalled that the Vendors Committee had its origins in an earlier attempt to remove the group from the park during the Giuliani Administration. He was working at his mother's food stand at the time and stepped up to organize the vendors. They prevailed and prevented the eviction.

"We're going to be here in one way or another," he said. "We want to continue to bring this food and this experience to Red Hook and to Brooklyn whether it's in this park or on the street."

He is scheduled to meet on Tuesday with Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Brooklyn Park Commissioner Julius Spiegel and City Council Member Sara Gonzalez. He also said that the vendors are looking into acquiring space elsewhere in Red Hook, partly so that they can turn their immensely popular spring and summer food season into a year-round affair.

"The people have expressed their support for us and their annoyance at the system," Mr. Fuentes told us.

You can find coverage in the Post here , the Daily News here, 1010 WINS here, and you can check out Lost City's post here. We'll provide a complete roundup and some additional news tomorrow.