a local vendor

On the corner of Clinton and Delancey streets, Juan Vrena calls out to passersby in Spanish. His small pushcart adorned with a colorful umbrella promises a frozen treat to those suffering from the insane October heat. Like some other Lower East Side residents who have emigrated from Spanish-speaking countries, Vrena makes a living as a street vendor.

This week, Vrena will put away his cart until next summer. Winter should arrive soon, and there will be little demand for the flavored ice that he sells for $1 a cup in four varieties: coco, mango, cherry, and rainbow. He has been selling from his cart on the Lower East Side for ten years. The locals who come to Vrena’s pushcart know him by name and they converse in Spanish as he fills small Dixie cups with flavored ice.

Vrena says that seeing the members of the local community is one of his favorite parts of the street vending job. He came to the United States from the Dominican Republic 44 years ago and has not been back since. Now, Clinton Street is both home and workplace. Like the other street vendors on Delancey Street, Vrena has become an integral part of the Hispanic community on the Lower East Side.

Despite having lived in the United States for many years, Vrena speaks little English. The same goes for most of the other street vendors that help distinguish Delancey Street from other parts of the Lower East Side. In any other neighborhood, this might be a hindrance worthy of help from Sean Basinski’s organization, the Street Vendor Project, but here, Vrena is just a part of the larger Spanish-speaking community. And when you purchase a cup of his flavored ice, you feel more a member of this Lower East Side as well.