Queens County, NY Street Vending: Vending Zones (2026)

Although Manhattan has the most famous restricted vending streets, Queens has its own geography of legal and illegal vending locations. Under NYC Admin Code 20-465, vendors generally cannot vend within 20 feet of any entrance to a building or on any sidewalk where the available unobstructed pedestrian path is less than 12 feet wide. Vending is prohibited within 10 feet of a crosswalk or driveway, within 20 feet of bus stops, and in designated no-vending zones. NYC Parks has exclusive vending concessions, so vending inside NYC parks, including Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Astoria Park, Forest Park, Cunningham Park, and Alley Pond Park, generally requires a Parks concession contract rather than a DOHMH or DCWP license. Transit plazas and MTA property including Jamaica Station, Forest Hills/71 Avenue, and the Flushing-Main Street terminal are under MTA rules and police enforcement. The Mayor's 2024 Roosevelt Avenue initiative added concentrated multi-agency enforcement from 74th Street to 82nd Street, with NYPD, DSNY, DOHMH, SBS, and DCWP running joint sweeps. The Queens Night Market in Flushing Meadows operates under its own special event permit framework that overrides standard vending rules. Veterans vending under GBL Article 4 have rights to vend on many NYC streets except in specially restricted zones. Licensed food carts should position with the serving window facing the sidewalk and not within 20 feet of building entrances.