Clay, NY Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Chapter 167, Peddling and Soliciting, is the only Town of Clay ordinance reaching sales made from a public street or place, and its definitions cover food. Section 167-1 defines a hawker and peddler as anyone who, from a public street, public place, or vehicle, sells or offers to sell goods, wares or merchandise; the only carve-outs are milk, newspapers, and food delivered on regular customer routes, so a food cart or vendor selling from the street or a sidewalk stand falls squarely within the chapter.

Section 167-14F then makes it unlawful to create or maintain a booth or stand, or to place barrels, boxes, crates or other obstructions, on a street or public place for the purpose of selling or exposing merchandise for sale, which bars fixed sidewalk vending setups outright rather than permitting them under a license. A mobile vendor operating from a moving or briefly parked vehicle instead still needs the § 167-3 hawker/peddler license from the Town Clerk, and remains subject to the chapter's other prohibited acts in § 167-14, including hours and school-distance limits.

Any violation of Chapter 167, including the § 167-14F stand ban, is enforced under § 167-17, the chapter's general penalty section, which sets a fine not exceeding $250, imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both, for each offense.