The Vendy Awards
This past October, the RMO was stoked to have joined in the festivities of the 4th Annual Vendy Awards- which according to sources, everyone says was the best yet! The venue was glorious, the food was divine, and we were honored to get to play to help raise $30,000 for this amazing project.
There are more than 10,000 vendors in New York City including hot dog vendors, flower vendors, book vendors, street artists, and many others. They are small businesspeople struggling to make ends meet. Most are immigrants and people of color. They work long hours under harsh conditions, asking for nothing more than a chance to sell their goods on the public sidewalk.
Yet, in recent years, vendors have been victims of New York’s aggressive “quality of life” crackdown. They have been denied access to vending licenses. Many streets have been closed to them at the urging of powerful business groups. They receive $1,000 tickets for minor violations like vending too close to a crosswalk – more than any big businesses are required to pay for similar violations.
The Street Vendor Project is a membership-based project with more than 750 active vendor members who are working together to create a vendors’ movement for permanent change. They reach out to vendors in the streets and storage garages and teach them about their legal rights and responsibilities. They hold meetings where they plan collective actions for getting vendors voices heard. They publish reports and file lawsuits to raise public awareness about vendors and the enormous contribution they make to our city.
To learn about which of your favorite vendors won this and past years awards as well as more info on the Street Vendor Project- visit www.streetvendor.org
Great news- we’ve been invited to join them again next year- so if you missed it this year- we’ll be sure to keep you updated about this fabulous event!
10th Anniversary of First Saturdays at the Brooklyn Museum
Rude Mechanical Orchestra in Front of the Brooklyn Museum, originally uploaded by Stephen Sandoval / PursueBliss.com.
The RMO was thrilled to be invited to help celebrate ten years (!) of the First Saturday program at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. On the first Saturday of every month, the museum stays open late, and offers free admission to a packed schedule of performances, lectures, and an always awesome dance party. We played in various spots around the outside of the museum, to an enthusiastic crowd including many old friends and lots of new, toddler-sized fans.
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