Salim Maati considers this year the most difficult of his life.
“I’ve been doing this job for four years, but this year is very tough,” said the 32-year-old street vendor from Morocco. “It’s so cold and the last 45 days – all of them have been cold.”
Maati works 12-hour shifts, five days a week, selling fruits and vegetables year-round from a large produce stand at the corner of Columbus Avenue and 68th Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He has barely been able to withstand the winter months.
“I need to wear a lot of stuff, for example, when it’s cold,” he said. “Two jackets, a lot of pants, very warm shoes and a lot of coffee. That’s the only way I can survive this.”
Salim Maati tries to dress for any of the elements that he’s exposed to while working at a fruit stand on the Upper West Side. (Credit: Neela Jain)
Sub-freezing temperatures are just one of the many extreme weather conditions outdoor New York City workers, like Maati, endure. In addition to the cold, New York City’s 1.4 million person outdoor workforce must face record levels of heat, air pollution, and precipitation, all of which are increasingly driven by climate change and pose significant risks to health.
According to the 2024 NYC Heat-Related Mortality Report, an estimated 350 New Yorkers die each year due to hot weather, while extreme cold claims an average of 15 New Yorkers a year. Extreme cold is defined by New York State as temperatures or wind chill equaling less than 32 degrees Fahrenheit. In January, 14 days of the month featured temperatures of extreme cold in New York City according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Prolonged exposure to extreme cold may result in fatigue, loss of coordination, confusion and disorientation, loss of consciousness and hypothermia.
A 2024 report released by the New York City Comptroller addresses the growing need for climate-related labor standards for New York City’s outdoor workforce. Citing the absence of regulations, the report proposed a two-pronged approach to reducing the impact of climate change on the city’s outdoor workers.
The report recommends several policy actions at the city and state levels. It urges the passage of the Temperature Extreme Mitigation Program, better known as the TEMP Act. This state bill, which was sponsored by New York State Sen. Jessica Ramos in 2023 and still remains under discussion in the Senate Finance Committee, would require employers to protect workers from worksite conditions of extreme heat or cold through the availability of water, shade, rest breaks and medical monitoring.
The report also lays out a series of city public health initiatives intended to support self-employed, contracted or gig workers, like Maati, who lack traditional employee-employer relationships and would not be covered by the protections of the TEMP Act. These measures include expanded public bathroom access during the hot summer months, personal protection equipment distribution during air quality emergencies, permission to use awnings for shade coverage, and outdoor worker emergency guidance communications during extreme weather emergencies.
Terri Gerstein, director of the Wagner Labor Initiative at the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, believes the report is a step in the right direction.
“Just like there are shortcomings in other laws, workplace safety and health laws are not as strong as they should be,” she said. “So once something is set as a norm, it helps cement it in people’s minds as a protection they should be getting.”
Maati, who worked as a computer science teacher in his native country before immigrating to the United States in 2016, believes even the smallest bit of protection from the elements, such as a heated enclosure, would make a difference – for both him and the business. It would also prevent the stand’s produce from freezing during the winter, a predicament that forced the stand’s closure for one week in mid-January, he recalls, which resulted in lost wages for him.
For now, he is grateful for the cover provided by recently installed construction scaffolding that sits high above the produce stand, protecting him from the rain and the snow.
“It’s just in the cold weather,” he said. “But just like a little heat to stay warm – that would be helpful.”
John Audem, a street produce vendor from Turkey who also works on the Upper West Side, shares Maati’s concerns. He would gladly welcome more shade coverage for the stand, he said, which would lessen his exposure to harsh weather conditions.
“People who work outside have a very hard job,” he said. “We are here all throughout the winter – January, February, March. Too cold, a lot of snow, a lot of wind. People need to understand and help us.”
New York City Health Code limits the size of mobile food vending units to 5 feet wide and 10 feet long. This size restriction includes all overhead structures, including awnings and umbrellas. The Comptroller’s report recommends modifications to the code to increase shade coverage on food carts and stands.
WIth the recent arrival of spring and warmer temperatures on the horizon, Audem lists the numerous beverages he consumes to stay hydrated. But finding a place to go to the bathroom?
“This is a big problem in New York City,” he said. “In my country, every street has a mosque and a bathroom, every street. But here? Everybody stops, taxi driver, delivery driver, asking where they can find a bathroom.”
There are 1,047 public restrooms in New York City, 116 of which are not in operation according to city data last updated in 2024. This is equal to approximately one bathroom per 8,000 city residents. The Comptroller’s report encourages fast-tracking city efforts to increase the number of public bathrooms. These initiatives include the ‘Ur in Luck’ program, launched in 2024, which aims to build 46 new restrooms and renovate 36 existing restrooms across all five boroughs over the next five years.
Currently, no outdoor labor standards exist at the city, state, or federal level to protect workers from the health risks associated with climate change. In August 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration formally proposed the Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings rule. An informal public hearing on the proposed rule begins June 16th.
Gerstein worries about the future of labor standards for outdoor workers under the Trump administration.
“Will they even go ahead with the heat standard or just shut it down?” she wonders. “And even if they do go ahead, there’s a question of whether it will be significantly weakened or face a challenge in federal court by a business organization.”
“For an issue that is so dire and serious and has the gravity of saving people’s lives, the legislative process simply does not respond to the urgency of the need,” she said.
