Councilmember denounces churro vendor arrest

Advocates and the churro vendor arrested at Broadway Junction, Elsa, held a press conference to speak about Elsa’s experience with the subway police on Saturday. Councilmember Antonio Reynoso will rally around a vendor with a similar experience today. Eagle photo by Paul Frangipane.

By Victoria Merlino

Ridgewood Councilmember Antonio Reynoso will rally with transit advocates and immigrants’ rights groups tomorrow to denounce the arrest of a churro vendor on Monday at the Myrtle-Wyckoff subway station. 

Reynoso, who also represents parts of Brooklyn, will be joined by Riders Alliance, Street Vendor Project and El Puente, among others. 

A viral video of a woman being arrested while selling churros at the Broadway Junction stop in Brooklyn on Friday has thrown Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to increase the number of cops in the New York City subway in sharp relief. A second vendor, selling at the Myrtle-Wyckoff subway stop, was arrested days later. 

“At a time when our City’s buses and subways need serious capital improvements and when the MTA is facing a major operating deficit, Governor Cuomo’s policies to increase the number of transit cops is a misguided waste of resources,” read a press release put out by Reynoso’s office. 

Numerous politicians took to Twitter to voice their displeasure with the police’s treatment of the churro vendor in the viral video and of the treatment of the vendor at the Myrtle-Wyckoff station.

“LEAVE OUR MAMÁS AND ABUELITAS ALONE. This is the livelihood that raised so many of our families and we demand respect,” tweeted State Sen. Jessica Ramos, who represents Jackson Heights, Corona and East Elmhurst. Ramos recently introduced a bill into the state legislature that would reduce license restrictions for street cart vendors in New York City. 

“What possible public safety threat was this woman posing? This is ridiculous. She should not have been arrested,” wrote State Sen. Michael Gianaris