Proposed New Vendor Law Would Constrict Sidewalk Space
Community Board 1 (CB1) is raising concerns about a proposed new law before the City Council that, if enacted, would increase from 18 inches to two feet the allowable distance between vendor pushcarts and the curb line. The Board is concerned that Lower Manhattan, with some of the narrowest sidewalks anywhere in the five boroughs, would suffer from worsening pedestrian congestion if passages become even more constricted, even by six inches.
While the proposed law is intended as a safety measure, to allow vendors to enter and exit their pushcarts without stepping into traffic, the measure would also allow vendors to operate in front of “obstructions.” This term is not defined in the text of the bill, but CB1 argues that it needs to be clarified, “and should include bike racks, planters, security devices including bollards, tree pits, bus stops and shelter, scaffolding, street furniture, etc.”
Adopting the law “would represent a significant change to our streetscape without enough consideration of clear path requirements,” CB1 says in a resolution adopted at its March 26 meeting. The same resolution notes that the proposed law “does not factor in the space taken up by sidewalk cafes… bus stops and bus shelters, even though they would reduce the space that is available for walking.”
As a case in point, CB1 cites the example of Vesey Street, near North End Avenue. This sidewalk is 17.3 feet wide, almost 50 percent greater than the standard New York City sidewalk width of 12 feet. But, “the sidewalk cafes and uneven cobblestones end up leaving less than five feet of unobstructed, level, smooth pedestrian path,” the Board’s resolution notes. “When food carts have been set up here, pedestrians with strollers, wheelchairs or delivery carts can only move single file past them and their customers standing in front of the cart.”
The resolution concludes by noting, “sidewalks are a precious commodity and are becoming increasingly crowded. They are for public use and not for private use, absent appropriate input, stakeholder notification, and agency review,” and then urges the City Council to reject the proposed law.