November 10, 2025 • 17 mins
The Street Vendor Project, a program of the Urban Justice Center, advocates for New York City’s 20,000+ street vendors, championing the rights of vendors as small businesses to earn a living and contribute to the culture and life of New York City. SVP’s Managing Director Mohamed Attia talks about the organization’s initiative to improve air-quality for both vendors and residents, via The Street Vendor Electrification Project, with a goal of converting carts from gas-powered generators to rechargeable batteries.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to get connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven Light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Good morning, and thanks for listening to get connected. There
are over twenty thousand street food vendors in New York
City iconic city small businesses. The Street Vendor Project advocates
on behalf of this very hard working group of men
and women, and is behind an initiative to improve air
quality for both vendors and residents with the Street Vendor
Electrification Project, converting carts from fossil fuel to rechargeable batteries.
(00:36):
Mohammed Atiya is Managing director of the Street Vendor Project.
Thank you for being on.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
The show, Sure, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
The website is streetvendor dot org. The Street Vendor Project
is a program of the Urban Justice Center advocating for
New York City's twenty thousand plus street vendors, championing the
rights of vendors as small businesses to earn a living
and contribute to the culture and life of New York City. Mohammed,
most of us have a favorite street vendor halal food,
(01:04):
coffee fruit, but I would bet that most New Yorkers
don't know very much about the community or what the
work is like. So I thought we'd start there. As
the Street Vendor Project, you represent nearly three thousand members
of the twenty thousand plus food vendors. There's a lot
of you, a lot of them. Who are they and
what kind of work do street vendors do? What are
they responsible for?
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Sure? Street vendors across New York City are a reflection
of New Yorkers. It's a community that is as diverse
as New York City is. Mostly immigrants, people of color,
working class individuals, single mothers, you know, veterans, military veterans
who are operating the cars and the trucks and the tables.
(01:48):
And they are the smallest businesses of our city. A
class of people who are the hardest of the working
class community, running their cars, running their businesses, setting very
essential products and very affordable, delicious foods. Receive them at
every corner. They hand you a dollar water bottle or
(02:09):
an umbrella, and it's raining subtly and you don't have
the umbrella or a puncho, you're going to find the
vendor there. And it's really important for people to know
who they are and where they come from and what
they go through to run their business and provide these services.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
As you mentioned, most of the community or immigrants ninety
five percenter immigrants. You actually started out as a street vendor.
Can you talk a little bit about your story and
how you found yourself in this role.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Sure. I'm an immigrant from Egypt. I came here in
two thousand and eight, and very soon after I arrived,
I started meeting with Egyptian immigrants like myself, and I
found that a lot of people are selling food in
the streets. They sell coffee, they sell a lot of food,
hot dogs. So I got a food vendor license and
I started looking for the job and I worked as
a vendor for someone, and then soon after that I
(02:56):
started my own business to sell smoothies. And that's where
I really learned how challenging it is to become a
street vendor, looking at the very long hours that it requires,
the capital then I need to invest, but also the
barriers and the challenges that I have to navigate and
deal with when it gets to the lack of licenses,
the very difficult arbitrary rules that I have to be
(03:19):
in compliance with, but also the lack of investment from
the government, the resources are very limited when it gets
to sheet vendors, you know, there is not much help.
And that's how I really got in touch with the
Seat Vendor Project and I joined the Scha Vendor Project
first as a member back in twenty twelve. I joined
as a member. I've been, you know, pretty active in
the work we do, especially with a campaign to increase
(03:41):
the number of permits for food vendors because it was
an issue that was very close to me personally. And
then in twenty eighteen, when the founder and the director
at the time of the organization decided to step down,
he basically broke me in as a co director. We
worked together for about a year and then in twenty
nineteen he left completely and here I am somehow they're
(04:02):
relatively new director, but I've been here for quite some time.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So the Street Vendor Project, you mentioned permits, In what
other ways do you offer assistance and guidance?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So the biggest thing is definitely the legal representation. So
sadly vendors are subject to receive a lot of tickets
by different enforcement agencies. We have our legal director who
represent the vendors in oath. This is the court where
you know the tickets are being sent to. But also
a lot of small business support to helping people with
(04:33):
a small business compliance, ensuring that they have their paperwork
ready when they can. Of course, helping people with sales
tax filing, giving them trainings and resources on how to
comply with the citing rules. You know, the rules are
very complex when it gets to where to set up
your card. You cannot just be anywhere you want. You
(04:53):
have five hundred rules and then you need to keep
in mind every time you want to set up your card,
and you want to be mindful of them, not be
in compliance with them, want to be a good neighbor.
But also two to ensure that you're avoiding any unnecessary
fines by the different enforcement agencies. But besides that, you know,
we also offer small business support, like you know, connecting
(05:13):
people with loan and grants opportunities when they are eligible,
helping people set up a Facebook or Instagram page. Social
media now is really important for any business, and a
lot of our members are not savvy enough and not
really you know, catching up with this wave. A lot
of vendors are still operating their businesses as cash only
(05:34):
business and now they are realizing how difficult it is
to compete in the market given that a lot of
people don't carry cash anymore. So helping folks actually opening
a bank accounts, set up epayment systems, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
And now you're interested in this environmental project, let's talk
about that as soon as I remind everybody who we're
speaking with. Mohammed Atya is managing director of the Street
Vendor Project. They advocate for New York cities twenty plus
street vendors and you can find out more at streetvendor
dot org. You're listening to get connected on one oh
six point seven light FM Imna del Rio. So, the
(06:09):
Street Vendors Electrification Initiative, what is this?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
We initiated the program that we called Environmental Justice for
Vendors by Vendors, and we started this program back in
twenty twenty one to basically get the vendors a seat
at the table and make sure that their voices are heard.
When we're seeing a lot of conversations happening around environmental justice,
climate change, climate resiliency, how we can get the small
(06:36):
business community to also keep in mind as street vendors,
as the smallest businesses when we're seeing all these incentives
on programs and infrastructure changes that are happening across our
city that sadly the vendors have been excluded from. So
we launched this program. We started with conversations with the vendors.
We surveyed more than two hundred vendors who really understand
(06:59):
the issue where things are at, why they have these practices,
why they use such equipment, and we gathered all this information.
We started having a lot of conversations with several stakeholders
across the city in different you know, sectors to understand
the issue. And everyone came together and they were really
(07:20):
in agreement that the one big issue that could be
addressed is replacing the gasoline generators that power these food
carts and food trucks. And yeah, as you probably know,
any New Yorker who walk in the street will see
there is a big grid engine attached usually to the
(07:40):
food cart or the food truck that is powering the cart.
It's idling, it smells really bad. It's using gasoline or diesel.
But this is the only way that most of the
food vendors like use to actually power their electrical equipment.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
So those batteries are noisy, those batteries are dirty. Why
do vendors use them and what are the alternatives?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Of course, the reason why a lot of vendors up
to use these generators is that we have proven to
be reliable source of energy for the most part, at
least for the last two decades. But of course they
come with a lot of challenges. You talked about the
fumes and emissions. The emission numbers are just off the charts.
(08:24):
It is really harmful and of course to the air
quality to New Yorkers residents, but also to the vendors themselves.
They also want to think about the health of the
vendor who stand next to that generator for ten twelve
hours every day. The other part, also when we look
at the alternatives to these generators we have learned over
the last couple of years is that there is no
(08:46):
one size fits all. I really wish there was. I
wish there was just one product that can fit everyone
and make everyone happy and power their cards and their trucks.
Sadly that's not the case. So we started with rechargeable batteries.
Batteries that are usually used to power some events, to
power you know, folks who are going on camping and whatnot.
(09:07):
We started using batteries like that, and that model was
successful for a very small group of vendors. And then
you have other group of vendors who actually say, actually,
my electricity needs are way higher than what this one
battery can provide me. I need a bigger battery, but
I don't have space on my card. That's why we
(09:28):
need to come up with these creative solutions. So we
started talking with the experts and a lot of them said,
the only solution that will be a reasonable and practical
alternative to the generator it does swap uple battery. So
have this device that is connected to the cart and
you can have three or four or five batteries attached
(09:49):
to it and you can actually swap as you go.
Looking at the technology that exists right now, we're seeing
a lot of this technology being implemented at the e bikes,
at the you know mobility new technology that is in
the streets now. We're seeing a lot of smaller cargo
e bikes being floated around the city right now. They
are used to deliver products to homes and places, and
(10:13):
that same technology could be implemented, of course, after some
adjustment to fit the cards and the truck's need.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
So you're starting with twenty vendors. How is that going?
But also the cost is it cost effective for vendors?
A lot of it's just going to boil down to that.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
It could be and it will be cost effective on
the long run. And this is where we're exploring that
they're from models. Right, if you want to purchase your
own battery at a small business, it will cost you
thousands of dollars and that could be beneficial to some
group of vendors. Now, with the Swabapole model, we're looking
at a company that will actually provide a service for
(10:51):
a subscription fee, and instead of investing thousands or even
tens of thousands of dollars as a small business person,
you don't really need to do that. You can just
connect with the company directly. You have a contract with them,
and you pay them a daily subscription fee that will
hopefully be as much as you're spending on gasoline or
even less, so it could be cost effective. It could
(11:13):
be even cheaper to use the clean technology, and you're
eliminating the generator. You get rid of all the maintenance
oil changing every few days every week or so. It's
going to break and you call the person to fix it.
You're eliminating all that headache and all these expenses and
you're only pay in a subscription fee. That is pretty practical.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
What kind of interest and response are you getting from
stakeholders in the city.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Well, with our group, we're seeing a lot of interest
from different folks, But the one group that I really
want to name is the Mayor's Office of Climate and
Environmental Justice. They are an amazing people, amazing office, amazing
partner in this journey, and they have been really investing
a lot of resources and staff time to look into
how they can expand this program and support our efforts.
(12:02):
We're now doing a lot of measuring of electricity needs
with various cards to collect the data so we can
actually know what we can you know, promote to the companies.
But we're also in touch with a lot of manufacturers,
like some companies who are now building the swabbable technology
and building a prototype for the vendors to basically, you know,
(12:23):
like make sure their product works for a food cart
and food truck. And this is going to be the
first time ever there is a custom made prototype for
swabboble batteries for the food cars and food trucks, which
is something really inspiring to see happening.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Are you looking at other cities as a blueprint or
will this be the blueprint at scale?
Speaker 3 (12:43):
I think this is going to be the blueprint at scale.
We're looking at other cities to learn from them, and
we're seeing different models being adopted at different places. But
we have not yet seen the swabbable battery being adopted
in the food vending scene in any other city. Maybe
it's out and we're not aware yet. But again, we're
a small, mighty team trying our best to gather all
(13:05):
the information and look everywhere. But as of now, we
have seen different cities and different states have actually created
programs to support the food trucks and the food vendors
community to actually transition from the gasoline to use the
battery technology, but not thoseable model yet.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
You also have the challenge perhaps of having to communicate
this information to so many languages and all that kind
of thing. How have vendors responded and how has it
been to get the word out.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Well, it's been a mixed interesting responses that we are
getting from the vendors. Of course, the language access is
a big key we translate everything we have in seven
different languages, and this is how we communicate with the
vendors and we go out and we have conversations, and
a lot of it is really kind of like eye
(13:53):
opening to a lot of folks. So people are like,
what are you saying there's technology out there that can
actually get me to stop the generators, And the answer is, yes,
there is. You can stop using this harmful generator and
you can actually use zero emission, clean technology that will
power your business very effectively. We don't want you to
(14:15):
do anything less than that. But also it has been
a real challenge with some folks who had bad experiences
with battery powered cards in the past, which is also
adding another challenge for us to like navigate all of
that and get folks to trust the technology again. So
right now we're running the pilot. We're expanding a pilot
(14:36):
where it's not going to cost the vendors anything, not
even a dollar. We're gonna cover everything. We're working with
the partners to make sure the technology is there for
them to test out for free, and then if they
like it, they can then invest in it and whether
you know, partner with the company and start paying subscription
(14:56):
fee or actually purchase here chargeaboard battery for them.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
So what would a successful timeline look like to you?
Speaker 3 (15:05):
I think our goal in the next year, in twenty
twenty six, to launch this pilot with at least ten
vendors in one location, if not more. And the dream here
is for twenty twenty six pilot to be a success,
that we can prove concept, that we can show how
much vendors have saved, that we can show that it's
(15:25):
actually a practical, realistic thing. And then starting twenty twenty seven,
we can look for how we can get the government,
the city government in particular, to look into investment in
a substantial way to scale this up across all the
sheet vending hubs.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
And what would you like someone listening to take away
from this conversation or what is a way to contribute
or support this work?
Speaker 3 (15:51):
So many ways, but the first thing is to really
support your smallest businesses. Go to the vendor at the
corner where you buy the food from, say hell lot
of the show them some love, show them some support.
But also I want folks to know that everything is possible.
We just need the political will, We need the resources
(16:11):
we have seen and We have heard from several council members,
several city agencies that they receive a lot of complaints
about the generators. They say, the vendors down the block,
they have a lot of generators. The fumes, the emissions,
all the noise, all of that is really bad. And
you really need to understand as a New Yorker that
these generators are used to power the card and make
(16:34):
them running. And vendors don't use them because they love them.
They use them because they are the only option that
is out there for them. But there are so much
potential for this transition to happen. We just need serious
commitment from the government. So if you really don't like
the generator that's your favorite vendor, maybe you can call
your council member and say, council member, why don't you
(16:55):
reach out to the achieve and their project and support
their Environmental Justice for Vendors by Vendors program, give them
the resources they need. Let us transition our vendors from
using generators to using clean technology to using swappable batteries,
and we can definitely get the vendors community to that point. Reason.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
You can follow up on what Muhammad just said at
Streetvendor dot org. Mohammad Atya is managing director of the
Street Vendor Project. Thank you for being to get connected.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
Sure, thank you so much for having me minyas pleasure.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
This has been get connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one O six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for listening.
Welcome to get connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly
conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on
one oh six point seven Light FM.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Good morning, and thanks for listening to get connected. There
are over twenty thousand street food vendors in New York
City iconic city small businesses. The Street Vendor Project advocates
on behalf of this very hard working group of men
and women, and is behind an initiative to improve air
quality for both vendors and residents with the Street Vendor
Electrification Project, converting carts from fossil fuel to rechargeable batteries.
(00:36):
Mohammed Atiya is Managing director of the Street Vendor Project.
Thank you for being on.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
The show, Sure, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
The website is streetvendor dot org. The Street Vendor Project
is a program of the Urban Justice Center advocating for
New York City's twenty thousand plus street vendors, championing the
rights of vendors as small businesses to earn a living
and contribute to the culture and life of New York City. Mohammed,
most of us have a favorite street vendor halal food,
(01:04):
coffee fruit, but I would bet that most New Yorkers
don't know very much about the community or what the
work is like. So I thought we'd start there. As
the Street Vendor Project, you represent nearly three thousand members
of the twenty thousand plus food vendors. There's a lot
of you, a lot of them. Who are they and
what kind of work do street vendors do? What are
they responsible for?
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Sure? Street vendors across New York City are a reflection
of New Yorkers. It's a community that is as diverse
as New York City is. Mostly immigrants, people of color,
working class individuals, single mothers, you know, veterans, military veterans
who are operating the cars and the trucks and the tables.
(01:48):
And they are the smallest businesses of our city. A
class of people who are the hardest of the working
class community, running their cars, running their businesses, setting very
essential products and very affordable, delicious foods. Receive them at
every corner. They hand you a dollar water bottle or
(02:09):
an umbrella, and it's raining subtly and you don't have
the umbrella or a puncho, you're going to find the
vendor there. And it's really important for people to know
who they are and where they come from and what
they go through to run their business and provide these services.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
As you mentioned, most of the community or immigrants ninety
five percenter immigrants. You actually started out as a street vendor.
Can you talk a little bit about your story and
how you found yourself in this role.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Sure. I'm an immigrant from Egypt. I came here in
two thousand and eight, and very soon after I arrived,
I started meeting with Egyptian immigrants like myself, and I
found that a lot of people are selling food in
the streets. They sell coffee, they sell a lot of food,
hot dogs. So I got a food vendor license and
I started looking for the job and I worked as
a vendor for someone, and then soon after that I
(02:56):
started my own business to sell smoothies. And that's where
I really learned how challenging it is to become a
street vendor, looking at the very long hours that it requires,
the capital then I need to invest, but also the
barriers and the challenges that I have to navigate and
deal with when it gets to the lack of licenses,
the very difficult arbitrary rules that I have to be
(03:19):
in compliance with, but also the lack of investment from
the government, the resources are very limited when it gets
to sheet vendors, you know, there is not much help.
And that's how I really got in touch with the
Seat Vendor Project and I joined the Scha Vendor Project
first as a member back in twenty twelve. I joined
as a member. I've been, you know, pretty active in
the work we do, especially with a campaign to increase
(03:41):
the number of permits for food vendors because it was
an issue that was very close to me personally. And
then in twenty eighteen, when the founder and the director
at the time of the organization decided to step down,
he basically broke me in as a co director. We
worked together for about a year and then in twenty
nineteen he left completely and here I am somehow they're
(04:02):
relatively new director, but I've been here for quite some time.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So the Street Vendor Project, you mentioned permits, In what
other ways do you offer assistance and guidance?
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So the biggest thing is definitely the legal representation. So
sadly vendors are subject to receive a lot of tickets
by different enforcement agencies. We have our legal director who
represent the vendors in oath. This is the court where
you know the tickets are being sent to. But also
a lot of small business support to helping people with
(04:33):
a small business compliance, ensuring that they have their paperwork
ready when they can. Of course, helping people with sales
tax filing, giving them trainings and resources on how to
comply with the citing rules. You know, the rules are
very complex when it gets to where to set up
your card. You cannot just be anywhere you want. You
(04:53):
have five hundred rules and then you need to keep
in mind every time you want to set up your card,
and you want to be mindful of them, not be
in compliance with them, want to be a good neighbor.
But also two to ensure that you're avoiding any unnecessary
fines by the different enforcement agencies. But besides that, you know,
we also offer small business support, like you know, connecting
(05:13):
people with loan and grants opportunities when they are eligible,
helping people set up a Facebook or Instagram page. Social
media now is really important for any business, and a
lot of our members are not savvy enough and not
really you know, catching up with this wave. A lot
of vendors are still operating their businesses as cash only
(05:34):
business and now they are realizing how difficult it is
to compete in the market given that a lot of
people don't carry cash anymore. So helping folks actually opening
a bank accounts, set up epayment systems, et cetera.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
And now you're interested in this environmental project, let's talk
about that as soon as I remind everybody who we're
speaking with. Mohammed Atya is managing director of the Street
Vendor Project. They advocate for New York cities twenty plus
street vendors and you can find out more at streetvendor
dot org. You're listening to get connected on one oh
six point seven light FM Imna del Rio. So, the
(06:09):
Street Vendors Electrification Initiative, what is this?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
We initiated the program that we called Environmental Justice for
Vendors by Vendors, and we started this program back in
twenty twenty one to basically get the vendors a seat
at the table and make sure that their voices are heard.
When we're seeing a lot of conversations happening around environmental justice,
climate change, climate resiliency, how we can get the small
(06:36):
business community to also keep in mind as street vendors,
as the smallest businesses when we're seeing all these incentives
on programs and infrastructure changes that are happening across our
city that sadly the vendors have been excluded from. So
we launched this program. We started with conversations with the vendors.
We surveyed more than two hundred vendors who really understand
(06:59):
the issue where things are at, why they have these practices,
why they use such equipment, and we gathered all this information.
We started having a lot of conversations with several stakeholders
across the city in different you know, sectors to understand
the issue. And everyone came together and they were really
(07:20):
in agreement that the one big issue that could be
addressed is replacing the gasoline generators that power these food
carts and food trucks. And yeah, as you probably know,
any New Yorker who walk in the street will see
there is a big grid engine attached usually to the
(07:40):
food cart or the food truck that is powering the cart.
It's idling, it smells really bad. It's using gasoline or diesel.
But this is the only way that most of the
food vendors like use to actually power their electrical equipment.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
So those batteries are noisy, those batteries are dirty. Why
do vendors use them and what are the alternatives?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Of course, the reason why a lot of vendors up
to use these generators is that we have proven to
be reliable source of energy for the most part, at
least for the last two decades. But of course they
come with a lot of challenges. You talked about the
fumes and emissions. The emission numbers are just off the charts.
(08:24):
It is really harmful and of course to the air
quality to New Yorkers residents, but also to the vendors themselves.
They also want to think about the health of the
vendor who stand next to that generator for ten twelve
hours every day. The other part, also when we look
at the alternatives to these generators we have learned over
the last couple of years is that there is no
(08:46):
one size fits all. I really wish there was. I
wish there was just one product that can fit everyone
and make everyone happy and power their cards and their trucks.
Sadly that's not the case. So we started with rechargeable batteries.
Batteries that are usually used to power some events, to
power you know, folks who are going on camping and whatnot.
(09:07):
We started using batteries like that, and that model was
successful for a very small group of vendors. And then
you have other group of vendors who actually say, actually,
my electricity needs are way higher than what this one
battery can provide me. I need a bigger battery, but
I don't have space on my card. That's why we
(09:28):
need to come up with these creative solutions. So we
started talking with the experts and a lot of them said,
the only solution that will be a reasonable and practical
alternative to the generator it does swap uple battery. So
have this device that is connected to the cart and
you can have three or four or five batteries attached
(09:49):
to it and you can actually swap as you go.
Looking at the technology that exists right now, we're seeing
a lot of this technology being implemented at the e bikes,
at the you know mobility new technology that is in
the streets now. We're seeing a lot of smaller cargo
e bikes being floated around the city right now. They
are used to deliver products to homes and places, and
(10:13):
that same technology could be implemented, of course, after some
adjustment to fit the cards and the truck's need.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
So you're starting with twenty vendors. How is that going?
But also the cost is it cost effective for vendors?
A lot of it's just going to boil down to that.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
It could be and it will be cost effective on
the long run. And this is where we're exploring that
they're from models. Right, if you want to purchase your
own battery at a small business, it will cost you
thousands of dollars and that could be beneficial to some
group of vendors. Now, with the Swabapole model, we're looking
at a company that will actually provide a service for
(10:51):
a subscription fee, and instead of investing thousands or even
tens of thousands of dollars as a small business person,
you don't really need to do that. You can just
connect with the company directly. You have a contract with them,
and you pay them a daily subscription fee that will
hopefully be as much as you're spending on gasoline or
even less, so it could be cost effective. It could
(11:13):
be even cheaper to use the clean technology, and you're
eliminating the generator. You get rid of all the maintenance
oil changing every few days every week or so. It's
going to break and you call the person to fix it.
You're eliminating all that headache and all these expenses and
you're only pay in a subscription fee. That is pretty practical.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
What kind of interest and response are you getting from
stakeholders in the city.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Well, with our group, we're seeing a lot of interest
from different folks, But the one group that I really
want to name is the Mayor's Office of Climate and
Environmental Justice. They are an amazing people, amazing office, amazing
partner in this journey, and they have been really investing
a lot of resources and staff time to look into
how they can expand this program and support our efforts.
(12:02):
We're now doing a lot of measuring of electricity needs
with various cards to collect the data so we can
actually know what we can you know, promote to the companies.
But we're also in touch with a lot of manufacturers,
like some companies who are now building the swabbable technology
and building a prototype for the vendors to basically, you know,
(12:23):
like make sure their product works for a food cart
and food truck. And this is going to be the
first time ever there is a custom made prototype for
swabboble batteries for the food cars and food trucks, which
is something really inspiring to see happening.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Are you looking at other cities as a blueprint or
will this be the blueprint at scale?
Speaker 3 (12:43):
I think this is going to be the blueprint at scale.
We're looking at other cities to learn from them, and
we're seeing different models being adopted at different places. But
we have not yet seen the swabbable battery being adopted
in the food vending scene in any other city. Maybe
it's out and we're not aware yet. But again, we're
a small, mighty team trying our best to gather all
(13:05):
the information and look everywhere. But as of now, we
have seen different cities and different states have actually created
programs to support the food trucks and the food vendors
community to actually transition from the gasoline to use the
battery technology, but not thoseable model yet.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
You also have the challenge perhaps of having to communicate
this information to so many languages and all that kind
of thing. How have vendors responded and how has it
been to get the word out.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Well, it's been a mixed interesting responses that we are
getting from the vendors. Of course, the language access is
a big key we translate everything we have in seven
different languages, and this is how we communicate with the
vendors and we go out and we have conversations, and
a lot of it is really kind of like eye
(13:53):
opening to a lot of folks. So people are like,
what are you saying there's technology out there that can
actually get me to stop the generators, And the answer is, yes,
there is. You can stop using this harmful generator and
you can actually use zero emission, clean technology that will
power your business very effectively. We don't want you to
(14:15):
do anything less than that. But also it has been
a real challenge with some folks who had bad experiences
with battery powered cards in the past, which is also
adding another challenge for us to like navigate all of
that and get folks to trust the technology again. So
right now we're running the pilot. We're expanding a pilot
(14:36):
where it's not going to cost the vendors anything, not
even a dollar. We're gonna cover everything. We're working with
the partners to make sure the technology is there for
them to test out for free, and then if they
like it, they can then invest in it and whether
you know, partner with the company and start paying subscription
(14:56):
fee or actually purchase here chargeaboard battery for them.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
So what would a successful timeline look like to you?
Speaker 3 (15:05):
I think our goal in the next year, in twenty
twenty six, to launch this pilot with at least ten
vendors in one location, if not more. And the dream here
is for twenty twenty six pilot to be a success,
that we can prove concept, that we can show how
much vendors have saved, that we can show that it's
(15:25):
actually a practical, realistic thing. And then starting twenty twenty seven,
we can look for how we can get the government,
the city government in particular, to look into investment in
a substantial way to scale this up across all the
sheet vending hubs.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
And what would you like someone listening to take away
from this conversation or what is a way to contribute
or support this work?
Speaker 3 (15:51):
So many ways, but the first thing is to really
support your smallest businesses. Go to the vendor at the
corner where you buy the food from, say hell lot
of the show them some love, show them some support.
But also I want folks to know that everything is possible.
We just need the political will, We need the resources
(16:11):
we have seen and We have heard from several council members,
several city agencies that they receive a lot of complaints
about the generators. They say, the vendors down the block,
they have a lot of generators. The fumes, the emissions,
all the noise, all of that is really bad. And
you really need to understand as a New Yorker that
these generators are used to power the card and make
(16:34):
them running. And vendors don't use them because they love them.
They use them because they are the only option that
is out there for them. But there are so much
potential for this transition to happen. We just need serious
commitment from the government. So if you really don't like
the generator that's your favorite vendor, maybe you can call
your council member and say, council member, why don't you
(16:55):
reach out to the achieve and their project and support
their Environmental Justice for Vendors by Vendors program, give them
the resources they need. Let us transition our vendors from
using generators to using clean technology to using swappable batteries,
and we can definitely get the vendors community to that point. Reason.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
You can follow up on what Muhammad just said at
Streetvendor dot org. Mohammad Atya is managing director of the
Street Vendor Project. Thank you for being to get connected.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
Sure, thank you so much for having me minyas pleasure.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
This has been get connected with Nina del Rio on
one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and
opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views
of the station. If you missed any part of our
show or want to share it, visit our website for
downloads and podcasts at one O six to seven lightfm
dot com. Thanks for listening.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.