Arrest Of Longtime Brooklyn Fruit Vendor Renews Advocate Outrage

BROOKLYN, NY — A longtime fruit vendor who was led away in handcuffs and strip-searched by cops in Brooklyn has renewed rallying cries from the city's street vendor advocates.

Maria Falcon — who happened to be standing with a friend whose own handcuffing went viral three years ago — was taken away by police at Broadway Junction just over a week ago while her daughter filmed, according to advocates and reports.

The arrest, which police say came after complaints about Falcon and a previous summons, has been seen close to 1 million times since it was shared Saturday on the Street Vendor Project's Twitter page.

"Shame on our city for choosing cruelty, instead of supporting hardworking mothers," the advocacy group wrote, describing the arrest as "horrific treatment" of a mother and immigrant entrepreneur.

Falcon, who has sold mangoes and kiwis from her street cart for more than 10 years, was held at the NYPD's transit station for more than two hours, amNY reports. Cops confiscated Falcon's carts and goods and had her take off her sweater, pants and shoes to be strip-searched by a female officer for drugs and weapons, according to the outlet.

Mayor Eric Adams — who has sent more cops into the subways — said Monday the arrest was part of a crackdown on transit rules, though he said the city will review whether it was handled correctly.

"There's a reason we have department of health standards — if people are just selling food without any form of insurance of the quality of their food, someone can get ill from that," Adams said. "If we follow the rules we won't have these incidents."

But according to advocates, the city's broken licensing system for vendors has made it near-impossible for even those whose food is cleared by health officials.

Advocates have long claimed a decades-old cap on vendor licenses has created a dangerous underground market for the permits and left vendors who are ticketed for selling without a permit in a cycle of debt.

Falcon was turned down for a mobile food vendor permit despite having passed the health department's food safety course and paying taxes for her business due to the cap, according to Street Vendor Project organizers. They pointed Tuesday to the mayor's previous support in raising that cap.

"Street vendors like Maria have every intention to follow the rules, just like any other small business," the Street Vendor Project and a coalition of supporting organizations said in a statement Tuesday. "We hope the Mayor will work with us to reform this archaic and arbitrary system that has discriminated against the street vending industry, an iconic part of New York City."

The advocates aren't the only New Yorkers who have come out to support Falcon this week.

"To achieve public safety, we must provide economic opportunities for New Yorkers who are pursuing them, not criminalize or push them into the justice system," said City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. "Street vendors like Maria deserve to work with dignity and respect."