A lawyer is facing backlash after she called 911 on two female street vendors selling food at a park without a permit in New York City.
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Sonya Shaykhoun posted a rant on Twitter about the two vendors selling food in Riverside Park. She shared photos of the women on her page, stating how she found it disappointing when vendors don’t display their permits when selling food in a public park. Additionally, Shaykhoun said she contacted 911 and reported the vendors to the police.
Yesterday I was coming back from tennis in Riverside Park and came upon this ad hoc unlicensed food stand. They were calling out to people to buy from them and I asked them, “where’s your permit” cuz we all know the permit has to be displayed. Well, the woman in blue got… pic.twitter.com/EWwXnrayW4
— Sonya Shaykhoun, Esq. (@SonyaShaykhoun) May 17, 2023
“What happened with this? The officers never called me back. This was at the 99th street entrance. We have beautiful parks; if you see ppl defacing them by setting up illegal stands, call the police. Time to take back our beautiful City,” she wrote in a follow-up tweet.
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The tweets quickly went viral after other Twitter users criticized Shaykhoun for calling 911 on the food vendors and complaining about food being sold at a public park which is common in New York City. One user said, “People are struggling in this country to feed them selves, and they have to hustle so they keep a roof over their head, and you decided that it was your business to harass these people. I don’t think I would feel very good about myself if I did that.”
Another retweeted Shaykhoun’s tweet and wrote: “i mean, hate and cruelty aside, if you call the cops to report something and they don’t bother to show up, you are not likely to gain satisfaction by taking your complaint to this website.”
For many of these women, as well as the churro, mango and candy sellers, because of their immigration status they are unable to secure legitimate employment so this is the only way they can earn income and feed their families. Also food permits are hard to obtain in NYC
— Dorsey Girl 😷 (@313Eternal) May 18, 2023
I wanna know why you so pressed about people trying to make some extra money? They’re not selling drugs they were selling a product. You said you called them a name, when they were just minding their business & a busy body came asking for a permit. People like you make it hard…
— ✨Dream Girl✨ (@TopTierBarbii) May 18, 2023
Shaykhoun has maintained her stance and said she only expressed concern due to the risks of buying food from “illegal vendors” and other issues.
Next time you’re tempted to buy food from unlicensed vendors, let’s hope it doesn’t end up like the customers in this story who bought the vendor’s burgers made with human remains: https://t.co/WzGnGP631u
The law is there for your protection. How do you know the food isn’t laced… https://t.co/NwTgf4o8pz
— Sonya Shaykhoun, Esq. (@SonyaShaykhoun) May 18, 2023