Thank you to our Sponsors

Gold Level Sponsor

Dorinda Medley
Jeff Zalaznick
Mervin Burton & Saviya Crick The Street
Silver Level Sponsors
Anonymous
Myrianne Clitus & Daniel Bustillo
Nate Tharp (eatstreetmeat.com) Vendor Project
Amy Kantrowitz Radha Rajkotia & Chris Dunn
Farida Deif & Tawfiq Rangwala Richard Frazer
James Vicente Sharat Chandran
Jason S. Fitz & Katarina Vretenarova Yanki Tshering & Yangchen Maya Gruben
Mervin Burton and Saviya Crick Wonita Williams
presents

The Third
Annual
Vendy Awards
September 29, 2007
Tompkins Square Park, NYC
 Schedule
Super Taco
3 p.m. Doors open
3-7 Eating, Drinking, Judging 96th Street & Broadway
7 ballots due Specialty: tacos, tortas,
7:40 ish Awards Ceremony tamales, quesadillas
8 p.m. The end

The Benefit Committee

Sean Basinski Serge Martinez
Mervin Burton Tawfiq Rangwala
Rupa Bhattacharya Stephanie Pilipie
I was born in Puebla, Mexico. I finished high school there, then I went to work in a big factory that
Sharat Chandran Nancy Ralph makes socks. I worked the machines on the factory floor, every night for 9 hours. I made 400 pesos a
Myrianne Clitus Marla Sincavage week, which is about $45. That is how it is in Mexico –y
o uwo r
kv eryh ardb utd on ’tmakea nymo ney.
The economy there is not so good.
Todd Coleman Laren Spirer
Jason Fitz Sam Talbot I wanted to go into the Mexican army –my father and grandfather did that and so did my brother. But
Amy Kantrowitz Yanki Tshering my father thought that it was not for me. Instead, I came to the U.S. I was 19 years old. My father and a
couple of my brothers were in Indianapolis, but it was too quiet for me there. There was nothing to do. I
Juhayna Kassem Caroline Waxler have a godfather who lives in Sunset Park, so I came to Brooklyn.
Rachel Kleinman Michael Wells
I went to English school for a couple months, then I got a job at a pizzeria in Park Slope. In my heart I
Wonita Williams am a pizza man. I also learned how to make spaghetti and mediterranean food. But that restaurant
closed down, so I moved to another pizza place. The owner of that place sold his pizzeria to the owner
of Super Tacos, which is how I got started with them. Its good —the other workers are very nice, and I
Raffle Prizes include... get to practice my English a little with the customers. The worst part is working weekends, when the
e xpresst r
ain sdon '
trun. So me ti
me sI do n’
t gethomeu nti
l5o r6i nth emo rning.
“7 Tr ai
n Eat i
ng Tour ”f oreightwi th SaveurFood Edi torTodd Col eman,
“St reetFood Advent ure Tour ”forf ourwi th“ Ser i
ous Eat s” f
ounderEd I live in Sunset Park with four roommates. We all went to school together in Puebla. We all work nights,
Levine, Dinner for two at Life Café, Dinner for two at Café Steinhof, b u tso me ti
me swe ’l
l got ot heMe xi
canbar si
nBr ookl
y nt oh aves omef un .Wea l
s op l
ays o ccerinPr o s-
Dinner for two at Miracle Bar & Grill, Dinner for two at Mercadito, Dinner p e ctPa r
k,but I
’mn o tve r
yg oo d.Ia
lsoli
kewa tch ingtheSo prano sa ndEn tou r
age.
for two at SALT, Huffy Red Rock Aluminum Mountain Bike, signed copy of
La Dolce Musto, Gift certificate from Three Lives Bookstore, Bottle of —- Alvaro Gonzales (not pictured)
HangarOneFr aserRi verRaspber ryVodka,andmor e….
 About the Organization
Fares Zeideia The mission of the Street Vendor Project is to advance economic justice and civil rights for all the
people who sell their wares on the streets and sidewalks of New York City. This diverse group of
Freddyf rom“ theKingof Fa l
afel & about 10,000 New Yorkers — mostly immigrants—enlivens our city by providing convenient food and
Shawarma merchandise at reasonable prices. Vendors are a hallmark of our city. Yet, for many years, they have
been besieged by more powerful forces. The waiting list to get some licenses is more than 20 years
30th Street and Broadway, Astoria long. Huge swaths of the city have been closed to all vending. Every day, many vendors are arrested
and prosecuted for no crime other than trying to make an honest living.
Age: 41
The Street Vendor Project is a membership-based project with more than 650 active members who are
Years in business: 5 work i
ngt o get
h ertocreateav endor s’mov ementf orpe rman entc hang e.Findingv e
ndor
sint
hes treets
and the storage garages, we hold legal workshops to educate vendors about how to combat police
Specialty: falafel, shawarma harassment. We publish reports and file lawsuits — and hold events like the Vendy Awards — to raise
public awareness about vendors and the contribution they make to our city. We also help vendors
grow their businesses by facilitating access to small business training and loans.

The Street Vendor Project is part of the Urban Justice Center, a non-profit organization that provides
legal representation and advocacy to various marginalized groups of New Yorkers. The Street Vendor
I was born in Ramallah, Palestine and came to the U.S. Project is funded through member dues, a few private foundations, and generous individuals like you.
To learn more, please go to www.streetvendor.org.
when I was 15 years old. My father was a U.S. citizen, and
I knew if I came before I was 18 I could get a green card.
Plus, it was hard living in Palestine. I sometimes get ar-
re stedb yt heIs r
ae l
i poli
ceb eca us eId i
dn’
th aveaPa les
-
tinian resident card. I was born in Palestine, but my par-
Our Esteemed Team of Judges
e
ntsf
l
edt
oJo
rda
ndu
ri
ngt
he’
67wa
r,s
owewe
ren otco unteda sr esi
d en t
swh ent he ytoo kthec ensu s.

InQu ee n s,Ienrol
ledinh i
g hschool,but Ididn’
t s
p eaka nyEn gl
ish ,s
os choo lwasv er
yd i
ffi
cult
. Idrop
p edo ut
after a few months and went to work with my dad, selling sheets and bedspreads door-to-door. Sometimes I
got lost in my own neighborhood –Ic ouldn’t
a skan yon eforhelpo rev enreadt h
es tr
ee ts i
gns.

After that, I went to work in a pizzeria, then in a stationary store in Astoria, then I became a cab driver for 17
years off and on. At one point I opened up a coffee shop in Long Island City. I also managed a supermarket.
But I wanted to make falafel and schwarma the way we did it back home. I scouted the spot for a couple of Ron Kuby Ed Levine Sarah Moulton
years, then opened the cart with Sammy, who worked with me at the supermarket. There is a big Palestinian
community in New Jersey, but not much of one in Queens, so its hard to find real Palestinian food here. I
thought there would be a market for it.

I love working in Astoria. It is near my apartment in Woodside, and there is a real community here. The same
people walk by every day on their way to the subway, so we get to know almost everyone. I have made a lot
of friends at the cart. I see women when they are pregnant, then I see them carrying their babies, then I get to
s eet hec hil
d reng ro wu p.I’
lll
e avethec artali
tt
lee ar
lyi
fit
ss low. Bu tse vend aysawe ek ,I’
mh ere .
Michael Musto Mo Rocca Andrea Strong Scott Stringer
 Ballot Veronica Julien
As always, our esteemed team of judges will determine who takes “Veron i
c a’
sKi tche n”
homet heSi lverVendyCup.Butt hisyear ,forthef irsttime,aPeopl e’s
Choice Award placard will also be presented. Vote below and return Front Street and Pine Street
thi
sbal l
ott ot hej udges’t entby7p. m.fori ttobecount ed. Vot efor Years vending: 2
one vendor only by marking a box below for best NYC street chef.
Specialty: jerk chicken, oxtails

Fr
eddy“
theKi
ng”Zei
dei
a

Thi
ru“
DosaMan”Kumar

Mo s
tpeo plethinkI’
mJ ama i
ca n,bu tIamf rom
Mohammed“
Kwi
kMeal
”Rahman a town called Penal in the South of Trinidad.
My father was a derrick man in the oil com-
pany and my mother was a housewife. I went
to school through 12th grade, then I went to
Ver
oni
caJ
uli
enofVer
oni
ca’
sKi
tchen commercial school to learn typing and shorthand. I got a job as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant, then at
a famous restaurant in Port of Spain called Belvedere.

Super Taco But I always loved to travel. I lived in Venezuela for 3 years, where I did housekeeping. Then, when I was
24, I started my own business selling secondary school supplies. I got to travel all around the West Indies.
Bymye a rl
y3 0’
sIh admyt woc hi
ldren,andIwa ntedab e t
terfuturef ort hem.Ih adas isterli
vi
ngi nHa r-
lem, so we came to New York. I got a job waitressing at Bun & Burger on Wall Street, then I moved to Ne-
To improve this event for next year, we are doing market research. dicks at 1 Centre Street. The Buildings Department was upstairs, and one of my customers worked for a
Please tell us how you found out about the 3rd Annual Vendy Awards: microfiche company. They needed someone to operate the microfilm machine. I got the job and stayed
there 17 years. It was comfortable, and I got to see my kids grow up.
______________________________________________________
When my daughter started college, I had more time, so I got a little table and started selling cakes –carrot
Yes,Iwoul dliketohel ppl
annextyear
’sVendyAwar
ds: cakes, lemon cakes, chocolate cakes –a tt
h ejaz zf est
ivalth e yu sedt oh av ea tGra n t’
sTo mb .The nI
My email address is: added drinks, like sorrel, lemonade and ginger beer. Then, when I moved to Brooklyn, I saw an advertise-
ment for the farmers market in East New York. My sister Shirley encouraged me to give it a try with jerk
Tear along line

_____________________________________________________ chi
cke na n do xtail
s .Sh e’sb eensell
ingfoo da tWh i
te hall
an dBo wl i
n gGr e enfor mo reth an1 0y ears.

Ili
k eg oi
n gtoplayso nBr oa dwa y . Someti
me sI ’l
l gowi t
hmys i
ster,s ome t
imesIgob
ymy
sel
f
.Il
i
kemu
si-
cals and comedies. The last play I saw was called Platanos and Collard Greens.
Thanks!
 Mohammed Rahman Thiru Kumar
fr
om“ Kwi kMe al”
“TheDos aMa n”
45th Street and Sixth Avenue
Washington Square South & Sullivan
Age: 47
Age: 39
Years vending: 7
Years in business: 6
Specialty: lamb
Speciality: pondicherry dosa

I grew up in a big family in Dhaka, the capital of Bangla-

desh. My father had a fast food restaurant; fried
chicken, hamburgers, etc. After college, when I was
I immigrated to New York City from Jaffna, Sri Lanka
about 22, I moved to Canada with a group of friends. I
in 1995, with my wife and daughter, after I won a
knew I wanted to end up in New York because New
green card in the diversity lottery. I worked for a
York offers the most opportunity. But I had no family here. It was easier to go to Canada first, get my Cana-
travel agency in Sri Lanka, so I knew a lot about the
dian citizenship, then come to the America.
U.S.
I spoke almost no English, so I took ESL classes in Montreal and worked in a deli. After a couple years, I tried First I worked in a gas station doing construction, then an iron factory on Long Island, then I got a job as a cook
too p enap i
zz a&p a st
ar e st
au rant.ButId idn’
tr eal
lyk nowwh atIwa sd oing.Is o l
dt h er est
a uranta tal o ss in a South Indian restaurant in Flushing. I worked there for almost five years. The restaurant business pays well
after a few months and moved to Toronto to go to cooking school. When I got out, I worked in a few fine din- but I wanted to be outside in the fresh air. I tried to get a permit to work on the street but there is a long waiting
ing restaurants in Toronto. Then, in 1996, I got my green card and came to New York. I worked at a steak- list, so I went through the process of applying for a spot in the parks. I chose Washington Square Park because
house, then a French restaurant, and then the Russian Tea Room, where I was the sous chef. it is near NYU which has a lot of international students who I knew would like my food.

I knewI wa nt
edmyo wnr est
au rant,bu tI couldn’taf
fordit, soI t
ookal oanf rommyb rot
her
s,r
anupmyc re dit Some of these recipes are family recipes from my mother and my grandmother, and some are my own crea-
cards, and bought a pushcart. My total investment was $50,000. The main chef at the Russian Tea Room tions. To keep the traditional flavor of my dosas, I use a stone grinder to make the lentil-rice batter. I really love
laughed at me. And my wife gave me a hard time –she thought it was not a respectable job for a chef like my customers, most of whom are NYU students. People love street food because they want to be able to have
me. When I was young, I wanted to be a doctor. And here I was working on the street. me create it the way they want it, right in front of them. This is my third year in the Vendy awards. Hopefully I
can win this year, but whatever happens is OK.
But now things are much better. We have two boys and a girl, and we own a house in Jackson Heights. I
don’ts e eth ek id
smu ch,sin ceIwo rkfrom6 :30a .
m.t o10p .
m.d u r
in gth ewe e k.Bu tweh a v
eab a sketball I became a citizen in 2000 and now my life is here. I live in Flushing with my wife and daughter, who is 16. The
hoop in the back yard, and on the weekends I play with my kids. My children are doing well. My eldest son, rest of my family is still back in Sri Lanka, and there are still some things I miss. I love the water, and my best
Rafat, is 15 . Now he wants to be a doctor. He goes to the high school for health professionals on 14th Street. memories are of swimming in the ocean that surrounds Sri Lanka. I still love to swim, and now I go on Long
And my daughter, Tazri, just started at Brooklyn Tech, one of the best high schools in the city. Island at Jones Beach and Long Beach, which is almost as good.