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Gothamist A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC. Gothamist Listen Live Donate News NYC TO BROOKLYN BRIDGE VENDORS: TIME TO PACK UP YOUR HATS, KEYCHAINS, REFRIGERATOR MAGNETS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jessy Edwards Published Dec 29, 2023 Modified Dec 29, 2023 69 comments -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share FacebookTwitterRedditEmail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Never miss a story Email address By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms . Paul Frangipane /Getty Images -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jessy Edwards Published Dec 29, 2023 Modified Dec 29, 2023 69 comments -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share FacebookTwitterRedditEmail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2023. Donate today Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations New York City will ban vendors from the Brooklyn Bridge starting Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams said Friday. Adams said the move will make the bridge, which he called one of the city's "most stunning gems," safer for pedestrians. It also will uproot dozens of vendors who crowd the span on a typical day, rubbing elbows with pedestrians and camera-wielding tourists. “Tourists and New Yorkers alike deserve to walk across it and enjoy its beauty without being packed together like sardines or risking their safety,” Adams said in a statement. “We’re not going to allow disorder to continue in these cherished spaces." The ban comes under new city Department of Transportation rules prohibiting vending in pedestrian walkways and bike lanes on all city bridges and their approaches. But dozens of vendors can be found selling various wares on the bustling bridge, including Yankees caps, novelty NYC license plates, keychains, refrigerator magnets and bobbleheads of former President Donald Trump. Also vying for bridge walkers’ dollars are photo stands where tourists can record 360-degree videos of themselves — with Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” playing in the background — for $10. The ban marks the city’s latest effort to improve conditions on the Brooklyn Bridge's walkway, which more than 34,000 pedestrians visited on a typical fall weekend last year, according to city statistics. It also comes amid a larger crackdown on unlicensed vending across the city under the Adams administration. The city says the bridge's high foot traffic makes vending along the walkways unsafe, as vendors' wares impede the flow of pedestrians as well as their ability to safely exit the bridge. MD Rahman, a licensed vendor, has been selling pretzels, water, hot dogs and sodas on the Manhattan side of the bridge for 15 years. He said someone from the city gave him a flier Friday that says he has to pack up his business by Tuesday, the day after his birthday. “I'm feeling very bad,” Rahman said. “Because this is very sad news for my life. I'm gonna tell my wife today. She's gonna cry because I have two kids, 10 years and 7 years.” He said he doesn’t know where he will go or how he will support his family once the ban kicks in, adding that his son has a disability and that he cares for his elderly mother. “They say, ‘find another spot.’ Another spot where?" Rahman asked. “Every spot is filled up.” At a transportation department hearing in early November, military veteran Tyrone Lopez said he opposed the ban, noting he was one of a handful of veterans with a license to sell NYC-themed tchotchkes, shirts and other merchandise. “We have a license, and there’s a lot more people out here who don’t have a license," he told Gothamist at the time. "But the bad part about it is, everybody’s going to suffer for it. I think it’s unfair for us veterans to even have to go through the same thing." “The crowding of the bridge, we have nothing to do with that," he added. Jessica Walker, the president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, said the city needs designated spaces where street vendors can lawfully operate, but argued that the city's bridges aren't appropriate locations. "The top priority across our bridge spans is to ensure that pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike can move safely, quickly and freely to their destination,” she said. The city Department of Sanitation, which enforces street vending rules, said it issued 240 violations on the Brooklyn Bridge from April through November. Mohamed Attia, managing director for the nonprofit Street Vendor Project, said he was disappointed the city is banning vending on the bridge, which by his count will affect 50 to 60 vendors. In November, he said, vendors offered to work with officials to allocate “safe spaces” for vending on the bridge's widest walkways. The width of the elevated pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge averages 16 feet. But it is less than 5 feet in multiple areas along the crossing, the city said. “It's a very sad moment,” Attia said. “When I know that someone will not be able to go to work the next day, someone who has been working and making a living in a particular location for many years now will be told that, one day, they can't show up anymore.” The city has begun reaching out to vendors with fliers in English, Spanish and Chinese. All vendor items must be removed from the bridge by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, with enforcement beginning Wednesday, according to officials. This article was updated with comment from Mohamed Attia, with the nonprofit Street Vendor Project. We depend on your support. Your donation will keep our reporting accessible to all in 2024. 01 days 14 hours 42 minutes 50 seconds Give before the end of the year and get a free t-shirt. Donate Now Tagged brooklyn bridge public safety new york street vendor economy transportation eric adams -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jessy Edwards Jessy Edwards covers incarceration and public safety. Before working at Gothamist/WNYC, she covered daily and breaking news at NBC New York and Brooklyn news at BK Reader. Got a tip? Email jedwards@nypublicradio.org. Read more Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE news After the New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square, these workers get busy Their goal, NYC Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch says, is to leave no trace behind. 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AdvertisingContact UsOur TeamRSS FeedDiversity (DEI)Careers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FacebookTwitterInstagramYoutube Terms Of UsePrivacy PolicyAccessibility ©2023 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 2023 Giving Deadline 01 Days 09 Hours 42 Minutes 50 Seconds Donate before the new year and get this T-shirt! Your support funds our non-profit newsroom and keeps Gothamist free for all New Yorkers. Donate Now