2023 New York Laws › GBS - General Business › Article 4 - Peddlers › 35-A - Veterans of the Armed Forces Who Vend in Cities Having a Population of One Million or More.

§  35-a.  Veterans  of  the  armed  forces who vend in cities having a
population of one million or more.  Subject to the  provisions  of  this
section  but notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of any general,
special or local law:
1.  (a) In cities having a population of  one  million  or  more,  the
official designated by a local law or ordinance to issue a local license
to  hawk,  peddle,  vend and sell goods, wares or merchandise or solicit
trade upon the  streets  and  highways  within  such  city  shall  issue
specialized  vending  licenses  to  members  of  the armed forces of the
United States who (i) were honorably discharged from  such  service,  or
(ii)  have  a  qualifying  condition,  as  defined in section one of the
veterans' services law, and received a discharge other than bad  conduct
or  dishonorable  from  such  service,  or  (iii)  are a discharged LGBT
veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans'  services  law,  and
received  a  discharge  other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such
service, and who  are  physically  disabled  as  a  result  of  injuries
received  while in the service of said armed forces and who are eligible
to hold licenses granted pursuant to section thirty-two of this article.
Such specialized vending licenses shall  authorize  holders  thereof  to
hawk  or  peddle  within  such  city  in  accordance with the provisions
contained in this section. Specialized  vending  licenses  issued  under
this section shall permit the holders thereof to vend on any block face,
and no licensee authorized under this section shall be restricted in any
way from vending in any area, except as provided in this section.
(b)  The  official  in  such  city responsible for issuing specialized
vending  licenses  shall  set  forth  by  rule  procedures  for  issuing
specialized  vending licenses pursuant to this section; such rules shall
establish a priority system, based upon  the  date  of  application  for
specialized  vending licenses issued pursuant to this section, provided,
however, that any disabled veteran vendor holding a specialized  vending
license  issued  in  such city prior to March first, two thousand three,
shall be accorded a priority based upon the date  of  issuance  of  such
specialized vending license.
2.  In  areas where general vending is authorized, outside of the area
specified in subdivision seven of this section, all specialized  vending
license  holders, including those vendors authorized to vend in the area
specified in subdivision seven of this  section,  shall  be  subject  to
those  restrictions  on  the placement of vehicles, pushcarts and stands
contained in any local law, ordinance, by-law, rule or regulation  of  a
city having a population of one million or more, to the extent that such
restrictions  are  not  inconsistent  with  the  provisions contained in
subdivisions four, five, six and eight of this section.
3. Specialized vending licenses issued pursuant to this section  shall
authorize  the  holders thereof to vend on block faces, outside the area
specified in subdivision seven of this section, on the days and  at  the
times  when  other vending businesses have been prohibited on such block
faces pursuant to any local law, ordinance, by-law, rule or  regulation.
Not more than two such specialized vending licensees shall be authorized
pursuant to this subdivision per restricted block face, provided that no
restriction  shall  apply  to  such licensees when vending on such block
faces except as provided in paragraphs (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k)  and
(l)  of  subdivision  seven  of  this  section;  and provided further no
specialized vending licensee shall vend  on  any  sidewalk  unless  such
sidewalk  has  at  least  a  ten-foot  wide  clear pedestrian path to be
measured from the boundary of any private property to  any  obstructions
in  or  on  the  sidewalk, or if there are no obstructions, to the curb.
Where three or more specialized vending license holders attempt to  vend
simultaneously  on  the  same  block  face,  the two specialized vending

license holders with the higher priority,  as  established  pursuant  to
paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  one  of  this  section,  shall have the
exclusive right to vend on such block face, and  any  other  specialized
vending  license holder vending on such block face shall be deemed to be
vending without first having obtained a license.
4. Where exigent circumstances exist, a police officer of the city may
order a specialized vending license holder to temporarily  move  from  a
location;  for  purposes  of  this  subdivision, "exigent circumstances"
shall mean an immediate threat to public safety caused  by  unusual  and
severe  pedestrian  congestion  due  to  an  impediment  other  than the
specialized vending license holder, or by  an  accident,  fire,  parade,
demonstration  or  other  emergency  situation.  Nothing herein shall be
construed to limit  such  city's  authority  to  place  restrictions  on
vending in order to protect national security.
5.  Specialized  vending  licenses  to  vend shall be accompanied by a
photographic color coded identification which shall include the priority
number established pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision one of  this
section,  and  shall  be  displayed  by such specialized vending license
holder.
6. Specialized vending licenses to vend shall not be  loaned,  leased,
subcontracted or otherwise transferred except:
(a)  Upon  the death of the disabled veteran who held the license, the
license shall be transferred by operation of law to the surviving spouse
or, if there is no surviving spouse or the surviving spouse  elects  not
to use the license, to the guardian of a minor child or children who may
use  the  license  for  the  support of the minor child or children. The
license shall revert to the licensing agency for reassignment  upon  the
death  of  the surviving spouse, if the surviving spouse remarries, when
the youngest minor child  reaches  age  eighteen,  or  when  either  the
surviving  spouse  or guardian of the minor child or children elects not
to use the license to vend in the city of New York or abandons  the  use
of  the  license.  Temporary  periods when the spouse or guardian do not
vend shall not cause the license to revert to the  licensing  agency  in
the  absence  of  other  evidence of an intent to abandon the use of the
license; a period of six months or more  in  which  the  holder  of  the
license  does  not  vend  shall create a rebuttable presumption that the
spouse or guardian has abandoned the use of the license; and
(b)  If  the  veteran  who  holds  the  license  becomes  totally  and
permanently  disabled,  the holder of the license may transfer it to the
holder's spouse or, if the veteran has no spouse, to an adult  child  if
the  child  assumes  the  duty to support the veteran. The license shall
revert to the licensing agency  when:  (1)  the  veteran  who  held  the
license  immediately  before  the  transfer dies; (2) the spouse dies or
divorces the  veteran  who  held  the  license  immediately  before  the
transfer;  or  (3)  the child to whom the license is transferred dies or
renounces the obligation to support the veteran  who  held  the  license
immediately before the transfer.
7.  In  the  borough  of Manhattan in the city of New York in the area
bounded on the east by Second avenue, on the south by Thirtieth  street,
on  the  west  by  Ninth  avenue and Columbus avenue and on the north by
Sixty-fifth street, the following additional provisions shall  apply  to
the issuance of specialized vending licenses to disabled veteran vendors
pursuant to this section:
(a)  such specialized vending license holders shall be prohibited from
vending on Second avenue, Third avenue, Lexington avenue,  Park  avenue,
Vanderbilt  avenue,  Madison avenue, Fifth avenue, Sixth avenue, Seventh
avenue,  Broadway,  Eighth  avenue,  Amsterdam  avenue,  Ninth   avenue,
Columbus  avenue,  Thirty-fourth  street  between  Lexington  avenue and

Seventh avenue, Forty-second street between Lexington avenue and  Eighth
avenue,  Forty-ninth street between Lexington avenue and Seventh avenue,
Fiftieth  street  between  Lexington  Avenue  and  Seventh  avenue   and
Fifty-seventh street between Lexington Avenue and Seventh avenue;
(b)  there  shall  be  a  limit  of one authorized specialized vending
license holder per block face;
(c) there shall be a limit of one  hundred  five  specialized  vending
license holders authorized to vend within the area at any one time to be
allocated  as  follows:  sixty upon the effective date of the chapter of
the  laws  of  two  thousand  four  which  amended  this  paragraph,  an
additional  fifteen  commencing  three months from the effective date of
the chapter of  the  laws  of  two  thousand  four  which  amended  this
paragraph,  and  an additional ten in each of the succeeding three years
commencing on January thirty-first, two thousand five;
(d) the rule set forth pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision one of
this  section  shall  establish,  pursuant  to  the   priority   system,
procedures   for   issuing  specialized  vending  licenses  pursuant  to
paragraph  (c)  of  this  subdivision;   any   dispute   regarding   the
implementation  of  such  procedure shall be subject to a prompt hearing
before an administrative law judge with the New York state department of
labor, provided that if such judge determines that a specialized vending
license holder  willfully  violated  such  procedure,  such  specialized
vending  license  holder  shall be subject to a thirty day suspension of
the specialized vending license to peddle in the area described in  this
subdivision;  if  any  specialized  vending  license holder who has been
determined to have willfully violated such procedure is determined, in a
subsequent proceeding, to have willfully violated such procedure at  any
time  following  the initial violation, such specialized vending license
holder shall be subject to a  one-year  suspension  of  the  specialized
vending  license to peddle in the area described in this subdivision; if
such specialized vending license holder is determined for a  third  time
to  have  willfully  violated  such  procedure, such specialized vending
license  holder  shall  be  subject  to  permanent  revocation  of   the
specialized  vending  license  to  peddle  in the area described in this
subdivision;
(e) specialized vending licensees under this section shall:
(i)  permit  regular  inspections  by  the  official  in   such   city
responsible  for  issuing specialized vending licenses or any authorized
city agency of any goods,  vehicle,  pushcart,  or  stand  used  in  the
operation  of  the  vending business, or any premises used by him or her
for the storage or preparation of goods intended to be  vended  in  such
business; and
(ii)  provide  the  official  in  such  city  responsible  for issuing
specialized vending licenses or other authorized officer of the city  on
a  semi-annual  basis, or more often if required by local law, by-law or
regulation in such city, the address and  name  of  the  owners  or  the
manufacturers,  suppliers  or  distributors  from  whom  the specialized
vending licensee receives his or her goods and also the address at which
the specialized vending licensee stores his or her goods or any vehicle,
pushcart or stand used in the operation of the vending business;
(f) no specialized vending licensee shall vend on any sidewalk  unless
such sidewalk is at least ten feet in width;
(g)  no  vending  vehicle,  pushcart,  stand, goods, or any other item
related to the operation of a vending business shall touch, lean against
or be affixed permanently or temporarily to any  building  or  structure
including,  but  not limited to, lamp posts, parking meters, mail boxes,
traffic signal stanchions,  fire  hydrants,  tree  boxes,  benches,  bus
shelters, refuse baskets or traffic barriers;
(h)  no  vending  pushcart,  stand  or  goods shall be located against
display windows of fixed location businesses, nor shall they  be  within
twenty  feet  from  an  entranceway to any commercial building or store,
measured as a radius extending from the center of  the  doorway,  except
where  such  doorways are within forty feet from each other, and in such
case a vending pushcart, stand or goods shall be an equal distance  from
the  center  of the doorway of each such commercial business or store at
the furthest possible distance on the sidewalk from the  building  line,
and  no vending pushcart, stand or goods shall be within sixty-five feet
of the entranceway to any theater, movie house, indoor sports arena,  or
place  of  worship  or  school,  measured as a radius extending from the
center of such entranceway;
(i) no specialized vending  licensee  shall  occupy  more  than  eight
linear  feet  of public space parallel to the curb in the operation of a
vending business and,  in  addition,  no  specialized  vending  licensee
operating  any  vending  business on any sidewalk shall occupy more than
three linear feet to be measured from the curb toward the property line;
(j) each specialized vending licensee who vends  from  a  pushcart  or
stand  in the roadway shall obey all traffic and parking laws, rules and
regulations as now exist or as may be promulgated, but in no case  shall
a  specialized  vending licensee restrict the continued maintenance of a
clear passageway for vehicles;
(k) no specialized vending licensee shall vend using  the  surface  of
the  sidewalk,  or a blanket or board placed immediately on the sidewalk
or  on  top  of  a  trash  receptacle  or  cardboard  boxes  to  display
merchandise.  No  specialized  vending  licensee display may exceed five
feet in height from ground level. The  display  may  not  be  less  than
twenty-four  inches  above  the  sidewalk  where  the display surface is
parallel to the sidewalk, and may not be less than twelve  inches  above
the  sidewalk  where  the  display  surface is vertical. Where a rack or
other display structure is placed on top of or above a  table  or  other
base,  the  size  of  the  base  shall  not be less than the size of the
display structure placed thereon. Nothing shall be placed on the base so
as to exceed the  size  limitations  contained  in  this  paragraph.  No
specialized  vending  licensee  shall  use any area other than that area
immediately beneath the surface of the display space of the  storage  of
items for sale; and
(l) no specialized vending licensee shall:
(i)  vend  within any bus stop or taxi stand or within ten feet of any
driveway, any subway entrance or exit or any corner; provided,  however,
for  the purpose of this subparagraph, ten feet from any corner shall be
measured  from  a  point  where  the  property  line  on   the   nearest
intersecting  block  face,  when  extended,  meets the curb, except when
noncompliance with the ten foot limitation of this paragraph is  due  to
the  placement  of  an obstruction. In such case the specialized vending
licensee may vend within ten feet; provided, however, that such licensee
must vend as far as possible from  the  nearest  such  driveway,  subway
entrance  or  exit,  or corner, and in no event within five feet of such
driveway, subway entrance or exit, or corner;
(ii) vend on the median strip of a divided roadway unless  such  strip
is intended for use as a pedestrian mall or plaza;
(iii)   vend   over  any  ventilation  grill,  cellar  door,  manhole,
transformer vault, or subway access grating;
(iv) sell or offer for sale any  item  directly  from  any  parked  or
double-parked motor vehicle;
(v)  use  electricity  or oil or gasoline powered equipment devices or
machinery of any kind; provided, however, that such specialized  vending
license  holder  shall be authorized to use self-contained battery packs

not exceeding sixteen volts in total  solely  to  provide  lighting  for
their vending business;
(vi) vend within thirty feet of an entrance to a park or within a park
under  the  jurisdiction  of the agency in such city that is responsible
for  such  city's  parks   and   recreational   areas   unless   written
authorization therefor has been obtained from such agency;
(vii) vend within twenty feet of a sidewalk cafe;
(viii)  vend  within  five feet from bus shelters, news stands, public
telephones, or disabled access ramps; and
(ix) vend within ten feet from entrances or exits to  buildings  which
are exclusively residential at street level.
7-a.  In  the  borough  of  Manhattan  in  the  city  of New York, the
following  additional  provisions  shall  apply  to  the   issuance   of
specialized  vending  licenses  to  disabled veteran vendors pursuant to
this section:
(a) such specialized vending license  holders  shall  additionally  be
prohibited  from  vending  on Broadway between Murray Street and Battery
Place and on Park Row between Ann Street and Spruce Street;
(b) such specialized vending license  holders  shall  additionally  be
prohibited from vending in the area including and bounded on the east by
the  easterly  side  of  Broadway, on the south by the southerly side of
Liberty Street, on the west by the westerly side of West Street  and  on
the north by the northerly side of Vesey Street.
8.  Any  dispute concerning the location of a vendor under subdivision
three of this section shall be subject to a  prompt  hearing  before  an
administrative  law  judge  with the New York state department of labor,
provided that if  such  judge  determines  that  a  specialized  vending
license  holder  willfully  violated  such  procedure,  such specialized
vending license holder shall be subject to a thirty  day  suspension  of
the  specialized  vending  license to peddle in the area and on the days
and at the times described in subdivision three of this section; if  any
specialized  vending  license  holder  who  has  been determined to have
willfully  violated  such  procedure  is  determined,  in  a  subsequent
proceeding,  to  have  willfully  violated  such  procedure  at any time
following the initial violation, such specialized vending license holder
shall be subject to a one-year suspension  of  the  specialized  vending
license to peddle in the area and on the days and at the times described
in  subdivision  three  of  this  section;  if  such specialized vending
license holder is determined for a third time to have willfully violated
such procedure, such specialized vending license holder shall be subject
to permanent revocation of the specialized vending license to peddle  in
the  area  and  on    the days and at the times described in subdivision
three of this section; other disputes arising under this section,  other
than  those disputes arising under paragraph (d) of subdivision seven of
this section, shall  be  adjudicated  in  accordance  with  local  laws,
ordinances, by-laws or regulations concerning general vending.
9.  There  shall  be  established  within  the  agency responsible for
issuing specialized vending licenses in such city an advisory  committee
consisting  of up to six disabled veteran vendors who shall consult with
the official designated to issue specialized vending licenses under this
section concerning the process by which specialized vending licenses are
issued and the restrictions herein are enforced.  The  members  of  such
committee  shall  be elected on or before August first, nineteen hundred
ninety-eight by a majority  of  the  disabled  veteran  vendors  holding
general  vending  licenses in such city as of August fifteenth, nineteen
hundred ninety-eight. The election  of  such  members  shall  be  by  an
election  which  shall  be  conducted  by the state department of labor;
provided, however, that if the majority of such disabled veteran vendors

holding general vendor licenses in  such  city  as  of  June  fifteenth,
nineteen  hundred  ninety-eight  fail  to  select  the  members  of such
committee on or before August second, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, the
agency responsible for issuing specialized vending licenses in such city
may  still establish procedures for issuing specialized vending licenses
pursuant to this section no later than October first,  nineteen  hundred
ninety-eight.  In  the  event a committee member resigns or is unable to
fulfill his or her duties, such member will be replaced by someone  from
the  ranks  of  the disabled veteran vendors by consensus of veterans on
the existing committee.
10. The agency responsible for issuing  specialized  vending  licenses
shall  publish  educational materials describing the provisions of state
and local laws, rules and regulations governing disabled veteran vending
in the city of New York and enforcement thereof for distribution to  the
public and appropriate city enforcement agencies.
11.  Where  the  city  of New York authorizes general vending, through
permit, auction, lottery or any other method subsequent to the effective
date of this subdivision other than temporary  general  vendor  licenses
issued  in  connection  with  street  fairs on any block face, street or
avenue specified in paragraph (a) of subdivision  seven  or  subdivision
seven-a  of  this  section,  the  prohibitions  and restrictions in this
section on vending by specialized vending licensees shall not  apply  on
such  block face, street or avenue and the number of specialized vending
licensees authorized per block  face,  street  or  avenue  shall,  at  a
minimum,  be  equal  to  the greatest number of any single type of other
vendor including but not limited to food, general, or vendors of written
matter and others similarly situated  on  such  block  face,  street  or
avenue.