NYPD starts clearing street vendors from Brooklyn Bridge as new ban takes effect citywide
NEW YORK -- Street vendors are no longer allowed to sell food or souvenirs on any New York City bridges.
Mayor Eric Adams says the new rule will make it safer to walk along the crowded tourist attraction, but dozens of vendors are now worried they'll lose their livelihoods.
CBS New York's John Dias reported from Brooklyn Bridge early Wednesday morning, as the NYPD ordered the crowd to pack up and clear out.
Police could be seen confronting the vendors and confiscating at least a dozen folding tables.
Dias spoke with one man who said he's been a licensed vendor there for more than a decade.
"How else can I be feeling when you can't pay the bills and you can sucked into everything going on, with Mayor Adams shutting the bridge down for vendors?" he said. "Everyone here is an immigrant, vending, trying to make a living."
DEVELOPING: NYPD is clearing out street vendors on the Brooklyn Bridge after mayors new rule went into effect at midnight.
— John Dias (@JohnBDias) January 3, 2024
Some, with licenses and all, have been working here for more than a decade. They don’t know where they’ll go. @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/OILNIaF3Z9
At its widest, the pathway along the Brooklyn Bridge is about 16 feet. New Yorkers we spoke with said there just isn't enough space.
"It became a hazard, it was just congested," Lower East Side resident Eddie Lopez told Dias.
"It was awful, it was junk and garbage all over the place," DUMBO resident Carla Melucci Argito said.
Melucci Argito told Dias she's lived in New York her whole life and walks the bridge every day. She said she feels badly for the vendors, but thinks it's a win for the city.
"This is some of the things that we New Yorkers love about our city, and it was being ruined, completely," she said. "So we don't have to punish them completely, just give them someplace to go."
Watch Ali Bauman's report
Police were seen passing out flyers Tuesday, warning of the looming enforcement.
MD Rahman told CBS New York's Ali Bauman he's been selling hot dogs on the Brooklyn Bridge for 15 years.
"I have license. I have permit. I'm losing my job," he said.
"So tomorrow, where are you gonna set up your cart?" Bauman asked.
"I don't have any idea now. I don't have any idea where we're gonna go," Rahman replied.
The Brooklyn Bridge has exploded in popularity since the pandemic. The city says the number of pedestrians crossing per week has doubled over the last two years, and vendors followed their customer base.
"It's really disappointing to see the amount of investment and resources being allocated to enforcement and little to nothing being allocated to reforming the system," said Mohamed Attia, of the Street Vendor Project at the Urban Justice Center.
Attia says with the city's strict rules, there are fewer places for these vendors to go than you might think.
"You cannot sell merchandise in the park without the park's permission. You cannot sell food around the parks unless you're a military veteran who has a specialized permit. You can't go across the street because there's a bus stop, there is a news stand. There are all these building entrances and crosswalks and driveways that you have to keep measurements from," he said.
Rahman, who says he voted for the mayor, believes there can be enough room for everyone on the bridge with some foot traffic enforcement.
"If you give me some rules and regulation, tell me how I'm gonna work and don't try to take my job away," Rahman said.