Pedestrians Applaud DOT Crackdown on Vending Boxes

Vendor boxes like these on the Upper West Side block crosswalks, crowd sidewalks and consume public space.

On April 25th, the DOT will begin enforcing a new law that clears vending boxes (aka "newsracks") from corners and narrow sidewalks. Over the last decade, the boxes have proliferated across city sidewalks like some kind of particularly virulent bacteria. But thanks to aggressive advocacy by DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall, the City Council finally passed legislation in late 2002 regulating the obnoxious objects. The will-power-challenged City Council had been stalled on the issue for years because of opposition from vendors and hysterical First Amendment claims from the newspaper industry. The new law and regulations are welcome, but they raise the important question of why the public so blithely accepts giving away scarce public space-in this case the sidewalks-so that some person can make a buck. Manned newspaper stands pay substantial fees to rent their space; owners of plastic boxes pay nothing.

Highlights of Vending Box Crackdown

• Enforcement starts April 25.
• All boxes must be registered with the DOT.
• Boxes must clearly display name, address, phone and e-mail.
• Box cannot be placed within:
  • Five feet of the corner area.
  • Crosswalk area.
  • Bus stops.
  • Two feet from the curb.
  • 15 feet of subway or railway entrances.
• Penalty
  • One week to remove illegal boxes after notification from the DOT.
  • $250-500 fine.
  • Three month confiscation of all boxes if fines unpaid.
• To report sidewalk blocking and other illegal vending boxes: 212 or 718 CALLDOT (225-5368)
• See www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/permits/newsracksinfo.html  

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