Help Street Vendor Project Lift The Permit Cap

Food truck lovers mourned last week when we discovered Cinnamon Snail would be calling it quits for good. The big reason for this sad news is because it is next to impossible to obtain a permit to legally vend in New York City.

As we’ve mentioned on this blog before, the permitting system for mobile food vendors is broken. Since the 1980’s there has been a strict limit on the number of permits available for vendors. And unless you were lucky enough to purchase one back then, you basically have to rent one from somebody that was. While the DOH only charges $200 every two years to renew the permit, the actual permit holders are charging food vendors well over 100 times that amount. It makes for a next to impossible task that both criminalizes vendors and limits the opportunities for new immigrants.

The good news is the Street Vendor Project is working on a new campaign to lift the caps. You can sign the petition online, but tomorrow the SVP will be at Cinnamon Snail talking to people about the situation and signing a petition to gain support for the campaign. The truck will be parked a little outside of Midtown on 21st and Fifth Avenue, but it’s worth the walk to support the situation and to get one last vegan doughnut before the truck closes for good on Saturday.

2 Comments

  • I couldn’t care less about vegan anything but that’s a great cause. Imagine all of the exciting new (full of meat) street vendors it could open the door to!

  • Urban Justice Center… always wondered what Charlie Bronson was up to these days

    Nice weekend all

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