"I'm Not a Criminal"

Maria Falcon, the subway food vendor whose arrest last month was caught in a video that went viral, tells the NYCity News Service that she needs to sell fruit in stations to support her family.

“I’m not a criminal,” the Ecuadorian immigrant says. “I’m not doing anything bad.”

One of her daughters shared the video—which shows Falcon in handcuffs as police officers walk her through the Broadway Junction station—with Street Vendor Project, an advocacy organization that posted it on social media.

Falcon, who has been selling fruit for 10 years without a permit, says she has no other option because it is very hard to get licensed.

She is to appear in court on May 19.

Lucy Cabrera has this report.

Videography Sandra Lopez