the harsh life of a street vendor -- in Oakland, CA

The New York Times & Bay Citizen report on the gun violence that plagues East Oakland's International Boulevard, one of the only streets open to mobile vendors. A five-year-old died on New Year's Eve, hit by a stray bullet from a barrage directed at his father's taco truck.

There are only 34 licensed vendors but 126 members of the recently formed vendor's association--suggesting that the majority of vendors are part of America's informal economy.