State bill could force city to permit more street cart vendors

Eagle photo by Alex Williamson.

By Alex Williamson

A bill introduced last week in Albany could end the city’s cap on the number of licenses issued for street cart vendors. 

The bill, introduced by State Senator Jessica Ramos, who represents parts of Astoria, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Corona, would forbid cities from limiting the number of cart vendor permits, curtail the city’s ability to ban vendors from parks and give vendors more freedom to choose where they set up shop. 

The bill would also vacate operators’ past citations related to sidewalk vending. 

“Over the past 30 years, cities throughout the state have made it increasingly difficult for vendors to make a living, through the denial of vendor permits and the criminalization of the industry,” the text of the bill’s summary reads, in part. 

The city’s limited pool of legal street cart permits has created a licensing black market, in which permits that originally cost $200 from the city are illegally resold for as much as $25,000. 

Other vendors have opted to sell their wares with no permit, legal or otherwise, risking big fines and having their carts confiscated.

Since the 1980s, the city has issued around 4,000 street cart vendor permits annually, even as the city’s population has grown. The Street Vendor Project, a pro-vendor group and part of The Urban Justice Center, estimates there are as many as 20,000 street vendors in New York City. 

“Lifting the 36-year-old cap on food vending permits will provide opportunities for thousands of (mostly) immigrants to legalize and formalize their small businesses,” said Matthew Shapiro, a spokesperson for SVP. “This cap on permits has been in place far too long and we are proud that Senator Ramos has taken action to support thousands of hard-working people.” 

A bill introduced last year by City Councilmember Margaret Chin would gradually increase the number of permits the city issues by 400 each year for a decade. That bill received a hearing but has had no further action since April. 

Other city lawmakers have focused on ridding their districts’ sidewalks of vendors, citing overcrowding, fumes, health code violations and unfair competition with brick and mortar establishments, which often have to pay sky-high commercial rents. Last year, Councilmember Peter Koo successfully pushed through a ban on street vendors along Main Street in Downtown Flushing, once a corridor famous for abundant and cheap Asian street fare. 

Ramos’ bill has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee. It does not yet have a listed Assembly sponsor.