A crackdown on unlicensed vendors near the popular Grand Army Plaza greenmarket has driven away some of the entrepreneurs during the holiday rush.
“This is honestly the worst time to do it,” said Cynthia Blade, an unlicensed vendor who has sold handmade and vintage jewelry at the park and other outdoor markets for years.
“They’re shutting us down at the height of the holiday season,” she said. “I would say, not even joking, 80% to 90% of my annual income comes from the holiday season.” She’s decided to stop selling at Prospect Park for now because she’s worried about getting in trouble.
During a visit to Grand Army Plaza last Saturday, a Gothamist reporter witnessed Parks Enforcement Patrol officers visiting some unlicensed vendors by the greenmarket. Officers told a man and woman selling tamales to leave the park. The couple moved to a nearby traffic median in the middle of Flatbush Avenue to sell their tamales, next to a man selling weed cookies.
Parks department officers have been issuing warnings to the unlicensed vendors in recent weeks in response to complaints, an agency spokesperson said. A similar sweep is underway on the Brooklyn Bridge, where the city seeks to ban both licensed and unlicensed vendors. Between April and November, the city issued 240 violations on the Brooklyn Bridge, mostly for unlicensed vending, to clear the way for pedestrians, Gothamist previously reported.
As a result of the crackdown that began around October, several unlicensed vendors selling candles, herbal teas and handwoven bags have left Grand Army Plaza and set up in front of the Brooklyn Central Library across the street. The parks department did not respond to a request for enforcement data regarding unlicensed vendors at Grand Army Plaza.
The enforcement sweep escalated on Nov. 27 when parks police forcefully handcuffed a vendor who had a tablecloth reading “Trippy Gawdz” after he refused to show them his identification. Parks officers confiscated his…
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