Street carts get a boost from new law

The city will grant 4,000 street vendor licenses over a decade, under legislation the City Council passed Thursday.

The legislation is aimed at empowering street cart operators who have had to lease permits at extortionate rates, though it faced opposition from brick-and-mortar businesses.

“This bill will create hope and opportunity for all these hardworking street vendors, especially our food vendors,” said prime sponsor Margaret Chin (D-Manhattan). “A lot of them have been taken advantage of by the underground market.

“All they want to do is just support their families,” she added.

The new licenses will be granted starting in July 2022.

Under the legislation, all new permit holders will have to operate their own carts — instead of leasing them for prices of up to $30,000 per year, Chin said.

Authorities will check to make sure existing license holders are operating their own carts over a seven-year period.

The city will set up a unit dedicated to enforcing the new law. It will focus on congested areas, said Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan).

There will also be a “street vendor advisory board” including representatives from brick-and-mortar businesses — some of which had said the bill would hurt their bottom line — that will get a chance to recommend reducing or expanding the annual number of new licenses.

“For generations, street vending has been a pathway to financial stability for immigrant New Yorkers, but bad policies, bad bureaucracy and inaction on part of municipal government has undermined this career path,” said Johnson.

The legislation passed by a 3413 margin on Thursday.