Mount Vernon, NY Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)

Chapter 194's definitions section, § 194-2, singles out the itinerant vendor as a person or entity who sells goods, wares, food or merchandise at a special event from various locations on public streets or sidewalks in the City or in a City park, distinct from a peddler working a fixed route or a food vendor at a stationary spot. The same section defines a special event as any occasion, including but not limited to fairs, shows, exhibitions, city-wide celebrations, and festivals, taking place within a specifically defined area of the City for a period not to exceed three days, so a Mount Vernon street fair or festival falls squarely within the chapter's reach.

Section 194-3 makes it unlawful to engage in peddling or food vending, which covers itinerant vending at a special event, without holding a license under Chapter 194, and § 194-9(C) sets that license's fee at $225, distinct from the $600 fee for a peddler or food vendor using a motor vehicle or pushcart and the $250 fee for one using a stand. Because itinerant vendors are peddlers and food vendors as those terms are used through the chapter, the same application, fingerprinting, insurance, and bond requirements in §§ 194-5 through 194-7 apply, and the same restrictions in § 194-11, including the ban on standing in one public-way spot for more than 30 minutes and the list of streets closed entirely to vending, reach vendors working a special event just as they reach a peddler on an ordinary day.