Adams defends cop crackdown on subway vendors, sees grill hazard

Mayor Adams on Monday defended a caught-onvideo arrest of an unlicensed food vendor in the subway, saying an NYPD crackdown aiming to enforce all the MTA’s rules will prevent chaos in the bustling mass transit system.

His comments came two days after local advocacy group Street Vendor Project published a video taken April 29 of a fruit vendor at the Broadway Junction station in Brooklyn being detained for setting up an unauthorized cart to sell her snacks.

Adams (photo) said he wanted to send clear directions to cops to enforce any and all rules and regulations throughout the city, and warned a lack of enforcement could lead to even more unlicensed food vendors in the subways using gas grills to cook.

“The bottom line is the next day it’s propane tanks in the subway system, the next day it’s barbecuing in the subway system,” Adams said during a news conference. “I’m not going to send my officers mixed messages. We have to follow the rules.”

Adams in February made a similar claim, declaring “no more barbecues” in the transit system.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority representatives could not identify a recent incident where riders were barbecuing in the subways.

NYC Transit rules ban “the solicitation of money or payment for food, goods, services or entertainment” on the subway, a regulation that also cracks down on musicians and “showtime” dancers.

The arrest of the food vendor is reminiscent to a similar 2019 incident at the same subway station, a key transfer point for the A, C, J, L and Z lines that also houses an NYPD Transit precinct. In November of that year, a woman selling churros at the station was arrested, prompting cries for justice from advocates and elected officials who accused the cops of overreaching.

Many subway vendors closed up shop in 2020 during the pandemic as ridership fell by more than 90%. But as life trickles back to the system, Adams and MTA Chairman Janno Lieber have called for an aggressive crackdown on quality-of-life crimes, like homeless people sleeping in trains and riders evading the fare.

“The MTA recognizes the benefits that vending can provide, but there are also safety-oriented rules about vending on platforms,” said MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan. “While there are a wide range of opinions about which rules to prioritize, the MTA appreciates that the NYPD is working across the board to protect subway riders and encourage compliance with all Rules of Conduct in the system.”