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NY Post
New York Post
14 Oct 2023


NextImg:NYC finally cracking down on rogue Brooklyn Bridge black market

The city is finally cracking down on rogue vendors hawking food, souvenirs and even booze on the Brooklyn Bridge — following a flurry of Post reports on the mile-long black market.

The Department of Transportation is pushing a new rule banning any “peddler, vendor, hawker, or huckster” from setting up business on pedestrian or bike lanes of any bridge in the city, citing concerns about overcrowding and security.

DOT is specifically targeting the Brooklyn Bridge, a tourist hotspot that also provides major access out of Lower Manhattan in times of emergencies like 9/11.

The 140-year-old crossing saw an average of 34,000 people use its wooden walkway last fall on weekend days – or twice as much as the fall of 2021.

“The Brooklyn Bridge has been called America’s Eiffel Tower, and it’s important that all New Yorkers and the millions of people who visit our city each year can enjoy it without impediments to safety and pedestrian mobility,” said DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.

Vendors sell magnets, keychains and other items for a buck near the Brooklyn Bridge walkway’s entrance to Manhattan.
J.C. Rice

Three weeks ago, a Post photographer traveling by helicopter 1,500 above the iconic span captured images of a shocking free-for-all along the bridge’s narrow 16-foot-wide pathway, with at least 26 peddlers hawking miniature Statues of Liberty, pot-leaf caps, and stuffed llamas — and some selling illegal cocktails or selfies with a live snake.

The pandemonium exploded on the bridge after the DOT moved cyclists to a protected lane on the roadway below two years ago.

Most of the vendors pushing products operate without a license.

Tourists on the Brooklyn Bridge.

The DOT is cracking down on rogue vendors hawking food, souvenirs and even booze on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Helayne Seidman

Rabeh Belkebir, a disabled Army veteran and longtime licensed mobile food vendor, said the rule change is long overdue.

“Nobody should be allowed to work on the bridge,” Belkebir said. “It’s not safe if it is very crowded.”

DOT will hold a virtual hearing on the proposed revisions on Nov. 15.