a. No general vendor shall engage in any vending business on any sidewalk unless such sidewalk has at least a twelve-foot wide clear pedestrian path to be measured from the boundary of any private property to any obstructions in or on the sidewalk, or if there are no obstructions, to the curb. In no event shall any pushcart or stand be placed on any part of a sidewalk other than that which abuts the curb.
b. No general vendor shall occupy more than eight linear feet of public space parallel to the curb in the operation of a vending business and, in addition, no general vendor operating any vending business on any sidewalk shall occupy more than three linear feet to be measured from the curb toward the property line.
c. No vending vehicle, pushcart, stand, goods or any other item related to the operation of a vending business shall touch, lean against or be affixed permanently or temporarily to any building or structure including, but not limited to lamp posts, parking meters, mail boxes, traffic signal stanchions, fire hydrants, tree boxes, benches, bus shelters, refuse baskets or traffic barriers.
d. No vending pushcart, stand or goods shall be located against display windows of fixed location businesses, nor shall they be within twenty feet from any entranceway to any building, store, theatre, movie house, sports arena or other place of public assembly, or within twenty feet from exits, including service exits, to buildings that are exclusively residential at the street level.
e. No general vendor shall vend within any bus stop or taxi stand, within the portion of the sidewalk abutting any no standing zone adjacent to a hospital as defined in subdivision one of section 2801 of the New York state public health law, or within ten feet of any driveway, any subway entrance or exit, or any corner. For the purposes of this subdivision, ten feet from any corner shall be measured from a point where the property line on the nearest intersecting block face, when extended, meets the curb.
f. Each general vendor who vends from a pushcart or stand in the roadway shall obey all traffic and parking laws, rules and regulations as now exist or as may be promulgated, but in no case shall a general vendor vend so as to restrict the continued maintenance of a clear passageway for vehicles.
g. (1) No general vendor shall vend on any street which is in a C4, C5, or C6 zoning district, or in the area bounded on the east by Second Avenue, on the south by Thirtieth Street, on the west by Ninth Avenue and Columbus Avenue and on the north by Sixty-fifth Street, except that as chairperson of the street vendor review panel established pursuant to section 20-465.1 of this subchapter, the commissioner of the department of small business services or his or her designee may receive applications from any person, group, organization or other entity to permit general vendors on any street within said area or said zones, or to prohibit general vendors on any other street. Such applications shall be considered by the street vendor review panel in accordance with the procedures enumerated in section 20-465.1 of this subchapter.
(2) No general vendor shall vend on any street which is in the area including and bounded on the east by the easterly side of Broadway, on the south by the southerly side of Liberty Street, on the west by the westerly side of West Street and on the north by the southerly side of Barclay Street. In addition:
(a) No general vendor shall vend on the easterly or westerly side of Greenwich Street between Liberty Street and Thames Street;
(b) No general vendor shall vend on the easterly side of West Broadway between Barclay Street and Park Place;
(c) No general vendor shall vend on the northerly or southerly side of Liberty Street between Trinity Place to West Street;
(d) No general vendor shall vend on the easterly side of West Street between Liberty Street and Cedar Street;
(e) No general vendor shall vend on the westerly side of Trinity Place between Liberty Street and Thames Street; and
(f) Notwithstanding the restrictions in paragraph 2 of subdivision g of this section, general vending shall be permitted on the following streets provided that general vendors comply with all applicable laws and rules:
(1) The easterly and westerly side of Broadway between Barclay Street and Vesey Street.
(2) The easterly side of West Street between Barclay Street and Vesey Street; and
(3) The southerly side of Barclay Street between Church Street and Broadway.
(3) Upon issuance of a new general vendor license or a renewal of an existing license, the commissioner shall provide a copy of subchapter twenty-seven of chapter two of this title and of the rules of the city of New York implementing such subchapter to such new or renewal licensee.
(4) No general vendor shall vend on any street that is in the area including and bounded on the east by the easterly side of Union Street, on the south by the southerly side of Sanford Avenue, on the west by the westerly side of College Point Boulevard and on the north by the northerly side of Northern Boulevard.
(5) No general vendor shall vend beginning on Thanksgiving until New Year's Day of the following year in the area including and bounded on the west by the westerly side of 10th avenue, on the south by the southerly side of 86th street, on the east by the easterly side of 13th avenue and on the north by the northerly side of 81st street, between the hours of midnight to 6:00 a.m. and between the hours of 2:00 p.m. to midnight, in the borough of Brooklyn.
h. No vending vehicle, pushcart, stand, goods or any other item related to the operation of a vending business shall be placed within a bicycle lane. For purposes of this section, the term “bicycle lane” means a portion of the roadway that has been marked off or separated for the preferential or exclusive use of bicycles.
i. No general vendor shall vend on the median strip of a divided roadway unless such strip is intended for use as a pedestrian mall or plaza.
j. No general vendor shall vend within the geographical areas under the jurisdiction of the department of parks and recreation unless written authorization therefor has been obtained from the commissioner of such department, but nothing therein contained shall exempt any general vendor from obtaining a license in accordance with this subchapter.
k. Where exigent circumstances exist and a police officer or other authorized officer or employee of any city agency gives notice to a general vendor to temporarily move from any location such general vendor shall not vend from such location. For the purposes of this subdivision, exigent circumstances shall include, but not be limited to, unusually heavy pedestrian or vehicular traffic, existence of any obstructions in the public space, an accident, fire or other emergency situation, a parade, demonstration or other such event or occurrence at or near such location.
l. [Reserved.]
m. No general vendor shall vend over any ventilation grill, cellar door, manhole, transformer vault, or subway access grating.
n. No general vendor shall vend using the surface of the sidewalk, or a blanket or board placed immediately on the sidewalk or on top of a trash receptacle or cardboard boxes to display merchandise. No general vendor display may exceed five feet in height from ground level, provided that a general vendor may use an umbrella that exceeds such height.
o. No general vendor shall sell or offer for sale any item directly from any parked or double parked motor vehicle.
p. No general vendor shall use electricity, electrical generating equipment or oil or gasoline powered equipment, devices or machinery of any kind.
q. No general vendor shall vend:
1. within twenty feet from sidewalk cafes or licensed stoop line stands; and
2. within five feet from (a) bus shelters, (b) newsstands, (c) public telephones or (d) disabled access ramps.
r. The department, or such other agency designated by the mayor, shall provide a website that shows a map of block faces where general vending is prohibited by law, based on the day and hour entered by the user.
(Am. L.L. 2018/180, 10/27/2018, eff. 12/26/2018; Am. L.L. 2018/181, 10/27/2018, eff. 4/25/2019; Am. L.L. 2019/191, 11/17/2019, eff. 11/17/2019; Am. L.L. 2021/018, 2/28/2021, eff. 8/27/2021 and 2/28/2022; Am. L.L. 2024/051, 3/29/2024, eff. 3/29/2024; Am. L.L. 2024/053, 3/29/2024, eff. 4/28/2024)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1989/112, L.L. 1995/014, L.L. 2006/039 and L.L. 2021/018.