The tamal lady who usually parks her food vending car on the corner of 103rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona says she would have more peace of mind if she could have a city-issued permit to sell food.

"It would mean less running around back and forth worrying if you're going to get a ticket or not," Lourdes told NY1.

Lourdes was serving heaping cups of Mexican hot chocolate and neatly wrapped tamales for $1.25 each on Monday morning.

Just a few feet away, City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer was holding a rally alongside other vendors and supporters, promising to scale back enforcement against illegal vending.

"One of the candidates for mayor, he wants to start a crackdown on street vendors and send enforcement after the immigrant communities that powered us through the pandemic," Stringer said.

Stringer was referring to Andrew Yang. Over the weekend, the former presidential candidate fired off a set of tweets, first suggesting there should be increased enforcement of unlicensed street vendors, then clarifying to say he also wants to increase the number of permits.

In response, Stringer deployed some of his progressive allies, including women of color who represent districts heavily made up of immigrant communities, home to the street vendors Yang voiced concern about.

"Andrew Yang, no one messes with my neighbors," said State Senator Jessica Ramos, who is supporting Stringer.

Asked about his comments on Monday, Yang sought to explain his position.

"The big problem with the sentiment as described in that thread is it makes it seem as if I think it's a zero-sum game between unlicensed street vendors and retailers, which I do not," Yang said. "I regret that I took on such a, frankly, complicated and nuanced issue on that medium."

The comments provided an opportunity for Stringer, who has been struggling in early polls as Yang continues to register at the top.

"What we want to make very clear is that the default position of taking away carts, locking people up for selling a churro or a tamal, those days are over when I'm mayor," Stringer said.

But enforcement is only one part of the problem. Last year, Mayor Bill de Blasio shifted street vending enforcement away from the NYPD and the City Council passed legislation in January to create 4,000 new sidewalk and street food-selling permits by 2032.

According to the Stringer campaign, street vendors are an important part of the local economy. There are approximately 20,000 street vendors contributing $293 million to economy and paying more than $70 million in taxes.

Ramos said the permits are only one part of the solution. She is currently sponsoring legislation which would lift the cap on permits allowing more sellers to obtain them.

"It is not that they do not want a permit. It is that they can’t obtain a permit," Ramos said.

Stringer said his administration would move away from enforcement and support Ramos' push to increase permits.