Max is a 4-year-old with double vision. Her parents are navigating treatment through the complications of Covid.

This piece was produced and edited by H Conley with help from Veralyn Williams and Amanda Aronczyk. Music is from Sugartree by Blue Dot Sessions.

Seeing Double

Of New York’s 20,000 street vendors, nearly all of them are immigrants, and most are unlicensed. That makes them vulnerable to harassment, fines, and even arrest. In Corona Plaza in Queens, vendors are coming together to push for change. This is the story of those vendors.

Hosted by Hannah Bottum. Reported by Rachael Robertson & Hannah Bottum. Senior produced, sound edited & designed by Michayla Savitt. Meg Cramer is the managing editor. Music is composed by Salman Ahad Khan. Archival material is from the NYC Municipal Archives. Special thanks to Veronica Fructuoso & the Corona Plaza vendors, Hafeezat Bishi and Alana Casanova-Burgess.

What's It Like to Run an Unlicensed Business in New York?

At her home in Queens, NY, in April of 2023, Maria Del Rosario Duran described her first son, Alex Ramon Jimenez Duran, as the leader of the family. Alex was a Staff Sergeant for the U.S. Army who pursued a career in public service. On May 12th, 2007, Alex’s unit, the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) was captured by enemy forces in Jurf Sakhar, Iraq, after his unit was attacked. His body was recovered in Iraq on July 8, 2008, confirming his passing 14 months after the capture. 

In this audio fragment, Maria recalls her firstborn son's memory describing why a military career attracted him. “For Alex the most important thing is family,” his mother explained.

Alex Ramon Jimenez Duran

This account showcases work produced by students in the Audio Journalism Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY).

What's It Like to Run an Unlicensed Business in New York?

Newmark J-School Audio Journalism

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