Queens County, NY Street Vending: Vendor Permits (2026)

Queens is home to some of NYC's most prominent vending corridors, including Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights and Corona, Junction Boulevard, Main Street in Flushing, and the Queens Night Market in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Vending requires overlapping licenses. Mobile food vendors need two items: a DOHMH Mobile Food Vendor License (the personal license for the individual) and a Mobile Food Vendor Permit (the permit that attaches to the cart or truck). For decades the number of cart permits was capped around 3,000 for citywide plus borough-specific categories, creating a long waitlist. Local Law 18 of 2021 established a 10-year program to release 4,450 new supervisory food vending licenses total, 445 per year from 2022 to 2032, assigned through lottery and prioritizing existing vendors who had been operating on the black market. General merchandise vendors need a DCWP General Vendor License, currently capped at 853 citywide with a long waitlist, though First Amendment-protected vendors (books, art, newspapers) are exempt. Military veterans and their surviving spouses have special set-aside vending rights under Article 4 of the General Business Law. Food vendors must also pass food protection training and have their carts inspected at a DOHMH commissary. All vendors must display their permit and license visibly, collect and remit sales tax, and comply with no-vending zones.