Over 10,000 applicants are waiting for NYC street vendor permits. What is being done to help the process?
NEW YORK -- Some New York City street vendors say it's impossible to work legally, and the city's permitting system is failing.
This comes after a 14-year-old was handcuffed while selling fruit in Battery Park earlier this week.
Over 10,000 waiting for street vending permits in NYC
For 15 years, Samya Eskandar has been trying to get her own food cart permit. Before COVID, she rented someone else's permit, and sold hot dogs on Broadway and Canal.
Eskandar is one of more than 10,000 on a city waitlist. According to a letter she showed CBS New York investigative reporter Mahsa Saeidi, her number is 1,764.
"What I do? Me old. I looking for job. What I do for job?" she said.
While she waits, Eskandar says she's doing part-time work, but it's not enough to pay the bills.
Why does it take so long to get a street vendor permit in NYC?
New York City caps the number of permits available.
In 2022, to help those desperate to work legally, a new law took effect with a goal of releasing more permits.
As of November, only 14 had been issued.
The city Department of Health told CBS New York on Friday that so far, 127 permits have been issued.
Earlier this week, Saeidi asked Mayor Eric Adams why the rollout has been so slow and if there is more the city can be doing.
"I personally believe no matter how many permits we put out, there is still going to be some illegal activity," Adams said.
As the city works to simplify the process, the mayor says they're thinking outside the box.
Recently, they launched a pilot program at Corona Plaza, where a small group without individual permits is allowed to sell items legally. The mayor says the pilot will be expanded to markets across the city.
But the city's response is not good enough for Comptroller Brad Lander. In November, he told the mayor the "sheer number of people on waitlists" shows the "City can do much more."
"It has not been fair in the past," Adams said. "If you just open the city up to people selling whatever they want whenever they want, we are creating a level of disorder that we can't accept."
