SAMEDI

Derek Bridges (Creative Commons)

by Emma Boyce

Since taking office, Mayor Mitch has repeated that everyone in New Orleans needs to pay their fair share. On Thursday, street vendors who push coolers hawking beer, water and snacks at second line parades joined those ranks. The City Council signed off on changes to an ordinance that would require the "transient vendors" to pay for a permit before taking to the streets. The Council painted the move as a compromise, as they reduced the price of the permit from $50 to $25 before giving final approval.

The reduction came at the request of Councilwoman Diana Bajoie, the amended ordinance's sponsor. After a unanimous vote, the ordinance was changed to require vendor have to pay $ 25 for the permits for a full year.

“I wanted to make it as small as possible,” said Coucilwoman Bajoie in the meeting Thursday morning.  

Bajoie, a frequenter of second line parades, went on to emphasize that the permit modification has nothing to do with the second line itself, but applies only to the vendors selling products on the sidelines of the parade.  

“[The ordinance] gives individuals a vehicle to legally sell products and things you normally sell at the parades,” says Bajoie.  “This part has nothing to do with impeding the [second line] tradition in any way.”  

According to Bajoie, the $25 permit is nothing compared to the $500 permit street vendors must obtain for Mardi Gras parades.   

Bajoie sees street vending as a “wonderful thing” and expresses hopes of expanding street vending permits beyond simply parade days.  

“I have people come to me [and] they would like to have vendor permits to sell other days, so I would like to see this go a little further,” says Bajoie.  

If street vendors are caught without a permit, they will not only be shut down, but also fined up to $500. Bajoie seeks to change this at some point, so vendors don’t have to run every time they see someone coming.    

Although some business owners, who pay a lot more than $ 25 to sell their products, might not be as supportive of street vendors, Bajoie sees supporting street vendors as a “way to help the really small business people.”