QUEENS, N.Y. - Tons of street vendors are popping up across the city. It's leaving sidewalks packed and some businesses upset.
Along Main Street in downtown Flushing, there are mats on the ground, many featuring handbags, and dozens of folding tables hawking random merchandise.
What You Need To Know
- During daylight hours, Main Street in downtown Flushing is lined with street vendors that set up tables and mats across from traditional stores and businesses
- NYPD tells NY1 the NYPD’s Peddler’s Task Force had been disbanded
- The NYPD also says it is working with the Mayor’s Office to transition primary responsibility for vendor enforcement
“You see some chopsticks, some pictures, all different items,” said a woman named Sylvia, who is friends with one of the street vendors.
The sidewalk of Main Street is clogged, and it’s not because of foot traffic.
While most of the streets vendors began to pack up around sunset on Sunday, for much of the day they competed for the same customers that the many mom and pop shops in this area so desperately need.
The Flushing Business Improvement District tells the New York Post it estimates that 90% of these street vendors are not licensed to sell general merchandise, making life even more difficult for local merchants that are struggling to pay rent and taxes amid the pandemic.
Sylvia from Flushing was next to her friend, who is a vendor, when she told NY1 she did not believe most of the street vendors near them needed a license.
“It’s all personal so they don’t need the license,” she said.
“They don’t need a license?” we asked.
“They don’t," she said.
“Because it’s personal?” we asked.
“I guess," she said.
When NY1 reached out to the NYPD for clarification, a spokesperson told us the NYPD’s Peddler’s Task Force had been disbanded. The NYPD also says it is working with the Mayor’s Office to transition primary responsibility for vendor enforcement.
When NY1 tried to find out if other vendors had looked into the possibility of needing a license, some told us they didn’t speak English. Others turned their backs, while some vendors ignored us.
The proliferation of street vendors is not only a concern on Main Street in Flushing.
It’s a trend that’s been noticed across the city.