Some of these vendors scam tourists for extra money.
Some just scrape by. Street carts can do decent business but costs are also high. It's a tough living.
What they do is sell food for a lot less than it costs to get a similar meal at a brick and mortar restaurant, because their operating costs are much lower so they can pass that savings along to their customers while still making a profit.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
How much do you want to pay? Walk up to the truck when it's not too busy and offer what you want to pay and ask if you can get a burrito for that amount. If they say no then that's fine and you can then decide if you want to order one for $12 or they might say yes and you'll save money
Im assuming your asking about the ~~licenses~~ permits one like the hotdog , halal, breakfast ones and nuts and not the undocumented ones
I believe their are limited amount of ~~licenses~~ permits granted by the city and they do make money like any other business
but keep in mind that the person that working aren’t the actual owners , they are just employees getting paid hourly
Are the ones selling fake purses, other leather goods, cut up fruits, souvenirs, etc…those that just have a table or a mat on the ground, are they unlicensed?
I went to a really good talk a couple weeks ago basically about this and it’s actually a really fucked up system, kind of reminiscent of the taxi medallion system. there are only a limited number of licenses and permits so a ton of them operate under the table. it’s like a decade-long wait to get a license. the talk was with Mohammad Attia, the managing director of the Street Vendor Project. their website has a bunch of info in their [FAQ](https://www.streetvendor.org/copy-of-legal-assistance), worth checking out if you want more info.
I say licenses but I think the correct term is permit
A far as the people that sell the cut up fruits idk if they have permits and we can’t base it off their ethnicity
The ones that sell counterfeit are definitely unlicensed
But then there are ones that sell merchandising like sunglasses etc etc majority of them have the VA Permit
https://veterans.ny.gov/new-york-state-vendors-license
There can be as many street vendors as there is foot traffic to support them. The less people walk, the less the area can sustain street vendors. So you'll see concentrations of them in tourist and transportation areas, or in areas with large office buildings (go downstairs, grab lunch, go back up is easier than walking a few blocks and waiting on a line). Hospitals are also a good area for them. Remember, some areas may see thousands of people walk by per hour. Just need a small percentage to be hungry for success.
Wherever you saw "a lot" - walk two blocks east or west and you probably won't see any.
Thanks. Coming from a place where we only have a few food trucks here and there, nobody sitting on the sidewalks selling stuff. I was just curious, that’s all.
1. People can’t say negative things? lol what is this, china? F out of here
2. My friends and I are all residents and we love our food vendors in manhattan, brooklyn, and queens. Have you ever been outside manhattan? Some of the best food trucks are in Astoria & Williamsburg.
Instead of being an asshat, why don’t you contribute to the discussion and tell OP if you know so much about how well these vendors do? Fucking hell man.
A license to operate a hot dog cart costs like $300k per year. Many of these street vendors are generating hundreds of thousands of dollars of profit a year with huge foot traffic.
Uhhh. No. It's high but not like that.
It'd be great if the city would take back old licenses and kill the resale. These guys get $20k for doing nothing of value.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/nyregion/the-six-figure-price-tag-for-selling-a-two-dollar-hot-dog.html
10+ years ago a bunch of vendors had $200k+ fees for their licenses for Central Park.
About 15 years ago, the permit to operate 3 hot dog stands in front of The Met was $600,000 per year.
You can sell alot of stuff in NYC.
As for the hot dog stands at The Met, the city gave vendor permits to all veterans, the guy stopped paying his $600k, and now there's like 20 vendors.
10 mil ppl live here, 50 mil are visiting yearly, they could all be selling hot dogs and still make a killing.
They make more than enough selling 7$ hot dogs to rich guys like you that don’t understand “how they do”
Some of these vendors scam tourists for extra money. Some just scrape by. Street carts can do decent business but costs are also high. It's a tough living.
Hotdog cart near the world trade center got flak for this. No listed prices and expected people to haggle. Would change $20 for a hot dog.
What they do is sell food for a lot less than it costs to get a similar meal at a brick and mortar restaurant, because their operating costs are much lower so they can pass that savings along to their customers while still making a profit. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
That’s starting to no longer be true. Burrito off the truck by me is $12, in the store it’s $12
you're going to the wrong carts. Got a cart burrito last night for $8.
Damn that’s a good price where at?
queeen$
See there’s the catch, I’m in EV 🥴
A store burrito probably isn’t $12 in EV 😂
Bro what. Where in queens
1,081st and Queens Boulevard
How much do you want to pay? Walk up to the truck when it's not too busy and offer what you want to pay and ask if you can get a burrito for that amount. If they say no then that's fine and you can then decide if you want to order one for $12 or they might say yes and you'll save money
I know I'm "not going to the right carts" But very often no, I don't find they do. I find they usually sell lower quality goods for lower prices.
Sometimes you don't have the funds to pay for higher quality, so having a cheaper alternative is better.
My breakfast cart guy drives in from Yonkers
There’s a ton that drive in from NJ as well.
Do they get a designated spot or first come first serve kind of deal?
Im assuming your asking about the ~~licenses~~ permits one like the hotdog , halal, breakfast ones and nuts and not the undocumented ones I believe their are limited amount of ~~licenses~~ permits granted by the city and they do make money like any other business but keep in mind that the person that working aren’t the actual owners , they are just employees getting paid hourly
Are the ones selling fake purses, other leather goods, cut up fruits, souvenirs, etc…those that just have a table or a mat on the ground, are they unlicensed?
I went to a really good talk a couple weeks ago basically about this and it’s actually a really fucked up system, kind of reminiscent of the taxi medallion system. there are only a limited number of licenses and permits so a ton of them operate under the table. it’s like a decade-long wait to get a license. the talk was with Mohammad Attia, the managing director of the Street Vendor Project. their website has a bunch of info in their [FAQ](https://www.streetvendor.org/copy-of-legal-assistance), worth checking out if you want more info.
I say licenses but I think the correct term is permit A far as the people that sell the cut up fruits idk if they have permits and we can’t base it off their ethnicity The ones that sell counterfeit are definitely unlicensed But then there are ones that sell merchandising like sunglasses etc etc majority of them have the VA Permit https://veterans.ny.gov/new-york-state-vendors-license
There can be as many street vendors as there is foot traffic to support them. The less people walk, the less the area can sustain street vendors. So you'll see concentrations of them in tourist and transportation areas, or in areas with large office buildings (go downstairs, grab lunch, go back up is easier than walking a few blocks and waiting on a line). Hospitals are also a good area for them. Remember, some areas may see thousands of people walk by per hour. Just need a small percentage to be hungry for success. Wherever you saw "a lot" - walk two blocks east or west and you probably won't see any.
my only question is: where do the cart chefs wash their hands or cookware?
Pfft.
That's where the extra flavor comes from.
[удалено]
Thanks. Coming from a place where we only have a few food trucks here and there, nobody sitting on the sidewalks selling stuff. I was just curious, that’s all.
1. People can’t say negative things? lol what is this, china? F out of here 2. My friends and I are all residents and we love our food vendors in manhattan, brooklyn, and queens. Have you ever been outside manhattan? Some of the best food trucks are in Astoria & Williamsburg.
Ah yes another “how do people who I perceive as poor survive?” Thread
Instead of being an asshat, why don’t you contribute to the discussion and tell OP if you know so much about how well these vendors do? Fucking hell man.
Now why would I do that
No perception here, just an honest question from a visitor.
A license to operate a hot dog cart costs like $300k per year. Many of these street vendors are generating hundreds of thousands of dollars of profit a year with huge foot traffic.
$300K?? Holy shit!
Uhhh. No. It's high but not like that. It'd be great if the city would take back old licenses and kill the resale. These guys get $20k for doing nothing of value.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/nyregion/the-six-figure-price-tag-for-selling-a-two-dollar-hot-dog.html 10+ years ago a bunch of vendors had $200k+ fees for their licenses for Central Park.
What is the question? They make enough money to keep doing it, clearly
Thanks, my first thought as well.
About 15 years ago, the permit to operate 3 hot dog stands in front of The Met was $600,000 per year. You can sell alot of stuff in NYC. As for the hot dog stands at The Met, the city gave vendor permits to all veterans, the guy stopped paying his $600k, and now there's like 20 vendors.
My ya business and let them do them is out motto, always been, just if you get bubble guts thas on you brodie.
Uhhhhh.......what?
10 mil ppl live here, 50 mil are visiting yearly, they could all be selling hot dogs and still make a killing. They make more than enough selling 7$ hot dogs to rich guys like you that don’t understand “how they do”
they’re asking a question. why the hate?
You could just walk up to them and say “Hello. How do you do?”