Introduction to Vending Enforcement
Waleed Salama spent two years studying vending regulations before setting up his own Halal cart along Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in 2002, where he travels from his home in Coney Island six days a week to work. But the 59-year-old said his preparations have rarely helped him fend off tickets, especially in the last two years as enforcement has intensified.
The Impact of Vending Enforcement
“The police will come every day and write a ticket. They might even come and write you two or three tickets on the same day,” said Salama, who holds a vending permit and moved to the city from Egypt in 2000. “They’ll write tickets about anything — they’ll find a thing to write a ticket for. And when I ask them, ‘Why are you here? Why are you bothering me?’ The police will say, ‘You know my boss sent me, you know it’s not up to me.’” Salama’s experience is emblematic of many street vendors in New York City, as most vending tickets are issued in predominantly white and wealthy areas to immigrant and minority sellers living in much poorer outerborough neighborhoods, according to a new report by the Worker Institute at Cornell University.
Demographics of Vending Tickets
Just over half of all civil tickets issued for street vending in 2024 were handed to sellers living in neighborhoods with the highest poverty rates in the city, the analysis of multiple agencies’ summons data shows. The four areas with the most criminal vending summonses were all in Midtown, from 25th to 60th streets and Fifth Avenue westward, as were two of the top five ZIP codes where the most civil tickets were issued. All of these Midtown ZIP codes represent areas with fewer nonwhite residents than the city average, according to census data cited in the report.
Areas with High Vending Activity
By contrast, the top five ZIP codes representing the home addresses of vendors who received civil tickets were in Astoria, Corona and Elmhurst in Queens and Sunset Park in Brooklyn — three of which represent more nonwhite and immigrant residents, as well as higher poverty rates, than the city average. (NYPD public data for criminal tickets does not list residential addresses for vendors.) This, the report charges, “paints the picture of an expensive program to criminalize immigrant and minority populations primarily for operating in predominantly white spaces.”
The Rise of Vending Tickets
The study comes as the number of street vending tickets continues to surge amid a series of much trumpeted crackdowns by Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, including Operation Restore Roosevelt in Corona. Overall, according to City Limits, the NYPD and the Department of Sanitation issued 13,520 vending-related tickets last year — more than double the 5,748 they had handed out in 2023. DSNY became the primary agency in charge of vendor enforcement in April of that year, though the police department has remained heavily involved in ticketing along with the parks and health departments.
Ineffective Enforcement
“No other industry is so exposed to government oversight. The result is a nearly impossible web of regulations and bureaucracy for this primarily low-income immigrant workforce to navigate,” the authors of the Cornell report wrote. “The complicated web of enforcement across agencies means a lot of time, money, and resources are spent on street vending enforcement.” The report also calls the sanitation department’s enforcement effort “costly and ineffective.” DSNY last year imposed about $200,000 in vending-related fines but collected just $91,000 of it while spending $2 million on street-seller enforcement, the report noted. That’s roughly an average of $21 dollars lost for every one of the 1,502 vending tickets the department issued.
Reform Efforts
Advocates, however, argue that legislators and agencies should turn to reform efforts that they say would not only create revenue for the city but also expand opportunities for street vendors. Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez, deputy director for the advocacy group Street Vendor Project, cited a report from the city’s Independent Budget Office last year that found a bill to eventually lift the caps on vending permits would generate $17 million in net revenue for the city. Street vendors rally in Bowling Green for the city to create more licenses, April 18, 2024. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
The Human Cost of Vending Enforcement
Birane Ndiaye, another Midtown seller, thought his troubles with vendor enforcement would slow down when he received a merchandise vending license in 2015 to sell accessories like hats and sunglasses after spending 21 years on the waitlist. (The city has for decades capped those licenses at 853 for non-veteran sellers, leaving more than 11,900 people on a waitlist.) But enforcement from the sanitation department has ramped up especially since the beginning of this year, Ndiaye observed. He’s always been careful to avoid areas where vending is prohibited, he added, but has nonetheless received two tickets so far this year for violating those rules while selling outside of the restricted areas as indicated in a booklet he received from the city when he obtained his license.
Arbitrary Enforcement
Vendors, however, say those rules are arbitrarily enforced — another sign of ineffective enforcement that perpetuates harm towards sellers through what the report calls “myriad and often confusing regulations.” A vendor sells fresh fruit in Midtown, April 22, 2025. Credit: Alex Krales/THE CITY Salama, for one, said he once received an NYPD criminal ticket for failing to display his vending license while he was still setting up shop for the day. Another time, he was hit with a criminal summons for operating from within 15 feet of a fire hydrant — a rule which only applies to merchandise vendors, as city laws governing food vendors only require that their carts not touch or lean against hydrants.
Conclusion
The issue of vending enforcement in New York City is complex and multifaceted, with many vendors facing significant challenges in navigating the regulatory landscape. While the city has implemented various enforcement measures, these efforts have been criticized for being ineffective and disproportionately targeting immigrant and minority vendors. To address these issues, advocates are calling for reform efforts that would expand opportunities for street vendors and create revenue for the city.
FAQs
Q: What is the current state of vending enforcement in New York City?
A: The current state of vending enforcement in New York City is characterized by a surge in tickets issued to vendors, with many of these tickets being issued in predominantly white and wealthy areas to immigrant and minority sellers living in poorer outerborough neighborhoods.
Q: What are the demographics of vending tickets in New York City?
A: According to a report by the Worker Institute at Cornell University, just over half of all civil tickets issued for street vending in 2024 were handed to sellers living in neighborhoods with the highest poverty rates in the city.
Q: What are the consequences of vending enforcement for vendors?
A: Vendors who receive tickets may face significant financial burdens, including fines and lost income, as well as the potential for confiscated goods and equipment.
Q: What are advocates calling for in terms of reform efforts?
A: Advocates are calling for reform efforts that would expand opportunities for street vendors, such as lifting the caps on vending permits, and create revenue for the city.
