A Brooklyn street vendor is reportedly selling low-priced medical masks and gloves to the community and clearing up to $2,000 a day - and he says he donates leftovers to police and first-responders

• A street vendor in Brooklyn is making $2,000 a day selling medical supplies such as masks and gloves at affordable prices, according to a recent report.
• Customers have flocked to his stand because his prices reportedly steer away from price gouging rates, with surgical masks that start at $2.
• The vendor claims some of his customers are healthcare workers, and said he donates his leftover supplies each day to police, first-responders, and medical workers, as hospitals continue to face a shortage in medical supplies.
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A street vendor has reportedly found success in Brooklyn selling surgical masks, KN95 masks, knit masks, and surgical gloves at affordable prices. Since arriving at his spot near a Rite Aid in Bushwick Saturday, he's been selling $2,000 a day, according to a report by the New York Post.

The vendor, who told the New York Post his name was Jay, said he arrives at 2 pm and offers surgical masks for $2 or six for $10, KN95 masks (the Chinese equivalent to N95 masks) for $5.99, boxes of gloves, and knit masks for $4.

Yes, Jay is making money selling medical equipment while hospitals around the country face supply shortages (he told the Post he makes around a $600 profit on the $2000 in sales). But he says he's also donating supplies at the end of the day and avoiding the price-gouging practices online platforms have been trying to clamp down on, according to the report. He told the publication that he donates leftovers to the local police precinct and Brookdale Hospital's first-responders and medical workers.

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"It's my choice to keep the prices low," Jay told the Post, "There's an epidemic, but at the same time I've got to feed my family. I don't want to make a ton of money on a pandemic, so I keep my prices low and I get a lot of customers that way."

Jay also told the Post that some of the people he sells to are healthcare workers looking to source medical supplies. A number of the customers interviewed by the Post voiced appreciation for the affordability of the supplies. He also said he had donated supplies to medical professionals attempting to purchase items from him.

New York has told non-essential businesses and employees to work from home, but City Hall spokesperson Olivia Lapeyrolerie told the Post that street vendors are allowed to sell so long as they stick to selling essential items like food or medical supplies. But she stressed that N95 mask, while allowed to be sold, should be given to those on the front lines - medical worker store grocery store employees.

Just a week earlier, a Brooklyn man was arrested after being accused of coughing on FBI agents who were investigating him on suspicion of price gouging medical supplies at a 700% inflated rate, according to a Bloomberg report.

You can read the full interview with Jay over at The New York Post.

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