Handcuffed Churro Vendor Supporters Plan Subway Treat Handout

BROOKLYN, NY — Churro vendors handcuffed for selling the treats in Brooklyn subway stations could soon be giving them away for free thanks to hundreds of fundraisers.

A GoFundMe campaign set up late Wednesday is trying to raise $5,000 to buy all the churros from 10 vendors for 10 days as a statement against cops who seem to be cracking down on low-level offenses as Gov. Andrew Cuomo adds 500 more officers to the city's subway systems.

"They are spending billions to hire more police to make these useless arrests," the GoFundMe reads. "Meanwhile, our subways are getting worse with more delays and interrupted service."

The fundraiser was started after two churro vendors were handcuffed at Brooklyn subway stations in the last week, sparking outrage from advocates and straphangers who argue the tactics target low-income New Yorkers and people of color.

Police have contended that in both cases, which were at Broadway Junction and Myrtle-Wyckoff avenues station, the women were warned they cannot sell food in the subways without a permit.

The first vendor arrested, Elsa, had been issued ten summonses for selling without a permit before the Friday incident. The second vendor, who has not been identified, was taken to court on two outstanding warrants against her after officers who had asked her to leave the station realized who she was, police said.

But advocates contend that the churro vendors, like many of New York City's street vendors, are victims of a broken permit system, which makes it near impossible for them to operate legally.

The incidents with vendors come weeks after two other arrests on Brooklyn's subways went viral online and prompted hundreds to take to the streets to protest the subway crackdown.

The churro fundraiser brought in nearly $600 in its first 15 hours. The money will be used to buy all of the churros from 10 vendors each morning so that the vendors can go into the subway and give away their day's worth of churros, organizers said.

"NYC Subway Churros ain't going nowhere," they wrote. "Chew on that."

The organizers said they calculated the $5,000 they would need because vendors make an average of $50 per day.

Those speaking out about the first churro vendor who was handcuffed, Elsa, have also said that they plan to create a GoFundMe specifically to help her pay the fines from the civil summons she was issued, make up for the lost wages of that day and to replace her merchandise.

The officers who took Elsa into custody at Broadway Junction confiscated her cart full of churros.