Illegal street vendors have returned to the Brooklyn Bridge despite a mayoral and transit ban implemented a year earlier. Scores of carts selling hats, souvenirs and food lined the narrow pedestrian walkway, with over 30 vendors observed and clusters on the Manhattan side and center. Vendors also occupied space on the Brooklyn side and sometimes blocked parts of the 16-foot-wide walkway. Tourists expressed that the vending feels like part of the New York City experience, and pedestrians purchased refreshments such as cold fruit on hot days. Officials previously cited pedestrian safety and bridge security as reasons for the prohibition.
Just over a year after Mayor Eric Adams and transit officials banned illegal street vending on the Brooklyn Bridge, the vendors are back. Scores of illegal vending carts selling everything from hats to souvenirs to food lined the walkway on a recent Monday afternoon. amNewYork visited the landmark bridge several times this month, most recently on Aug. 25. Before even stepping on to the walkway of the iconic East River crossing, five vendors were eagerly selling baseball caps, fruit and water to passersby.
But the vending action heated up once a reporter stepped onto the span to do the classic mile-long walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Over 30 illegal vendors blocked parts of the narrow walkway, which at its widest point is only 16 feet. Most vendors were concentrated on the Manhattan side and the center of the bridge. But still, hawkers optimized space on the Brooklyn side, too.
Collection
[
|
...
]