Council hearing spotlights push to lift New YorkCityvending license caps

Council Member Sanchez urged the City Council on Wednesday to move forward with Introduction 4-31, legislation that would increase the number of mobile food and general vending licenses made available each year and ultimately lift the decades-old caps that limit legal vending.

Sanchez said the current licensing system locks thousands of vendors out of the legal market and forces many to operate without permits. "Many vendors wait years and, in some cases, even decades to finally win their golden ticket," she said. "My bill 4-31 attempts to address these fundamental issues by increasing access to licenses over time for both mobile and general vendors."

Supporters framed the measure as economic inclusion. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams told the committee that street vending is an entry point for immigrant and low-income entrepreneurs and that more licenses and related services would reduce criminalization. "We must provide our communities with ways to help support themselves and their loved ones," he said.

Opponents centered their testimony on enforcement and public-realm impacts. Business improvement districts and supermarket trade groups urged the council not to expand permit availability until enforcement of time, place and manner rules is demonstrably improved and resourced. One BID representative said persistent illegal vending has created blocked sidewalks, grease in catch basins and safety risks for pedestrians in commercial corridors.

Agencies and data cited at the hearing illustrated both the scale of unmet demand and the limits of current enforcement. Department of Consumer and Worker Protection officials said the general-vendor waiting list for nonveterans is roughly 10,500 names; the department reported roughly 1,900 licensed general vendors citywide and a historic cap of 853 for nonveteran general licenses. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene described its rollout of supervisory mobile-food licenses created by Local Law 18 of 2021 and said the department has issued 823 supervisory licenses so far and that 382 supervisory licensees had obtained a supervisory license permit to operate a food cart or truck.

The Department of Sanitation, which was designated by the mayor to coordinate vending enforcement in April 2023, said 35 sanitation police are assigned to street vending enforcement and, through April of fiscal 2025 year-to-date, those officers had conducted more than 8,000 inspections and issued nearly 5,000 summonses. DSNY also reported about 8,390 inspections and 3,374 confiscations in a recent July-to-April period and said about 16% of confiscated goods were redeemed, 38% remained in storage pending redemption, and 46% were composted, donated or discarded.

The Independent Budget Office presented a fiscal analysis showing lifting the caps would generate new tax revenue if substantial numbers of vendors legalize. IBO said if 10% of people on the vendor wait lists became permitted, the city could see about $5.9 million in net revenue annually; if a much larger number entered the legal market, the estimate rises accordingly.

What would change on the street if caps rise? DOHMH and DSNY officials warned that expanded licensing alone will not ease sidewalk congestion unless accompanied by clear siting enforcement, commissary capacity for mobile-food vendors and additional enforcement resources. DOHMH stressed that food carts and trucks must be linked to permitted commissaries and that expansion would increase inspection and training workloads.

For now the hearing offered no final action; lawmakers signaled they will continue negotiations and consider amendments that pair license increases with stepped-up enforcement resources, clearer suspension/revocation rules and new vendor education and compliance supports.

Ending: Sponsors and advocates said the bills are intended to move vendors into the regulated economy; opponents urged a phased approach tied to demonstrable enforcement capacity and siting safeguards.