Photo by Miriam Quinones
The NYC health department announced Friday, March 12, the acceptance of applications to join the mobile food vending waiting list for supervisory licenses for U.S. military veterans and people with disabilities. As the first reopening of a supervisory license waiting list since the program launched in 2023, health department officials said the opportunity expands access to mobile food vending permits while maintaining strong public health standards.
“Street vendor reform is long overdue in NYC, and this is a step in the right direction,” said NYC Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Helen Arteaga. “The Mamdani administration is proud to support our disabled and veteran street vendors to help ensure they are given a fair shot when it comes to running their own food trucks and providing for themselves and their families.”
According to health department officials, around 1,300 food vendors have supervisory licenses in New York City, which allow them to apply for a permit at any time, including about 100 with supervisory licenses for U.S. veterans and people with disabilities. Beginning on July 1, they said the department will issue 2,200 supervisory licenses each year for five years under recently enacted local laws. With the opening of applications on March 13, they said an additional 300 veterans and people with disabilities will be able to join the waiting list for a supervisory license.
NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin said street food vendors are essential to New York City’s culture and small business economy. “Opening the supervisory license waiting list to more U.S. veterans and people with disabilities ensures that these communities have a clear pathway into the legal food vending system while we continue to uphold food safety protections for New Yorkers,” he said.
For her part, NYC Department of Veterans’ Services Commissioner Yesenia Mata said veterans deserve tangible pathways to economic opportunity. “For veterans interested in mobile food vending, this reopening creates a clear route into a regulated industry that can support financial stability and independence, while opening the door for more veterans to pursue entrepreneurship here in New York City,” she said.
Over 5,800 food vendors have permits to operate in New York City, including about 120 permits issued for veterans and people with disabilities, according to health department officials. They said the supervisory license program was launched in 2023 to implement Local Law 18 of 2021, which changed how mobile food vendors obtain a year-round permit and increased the number of available permits.
To apply for the new permits, health officials said a vendor must have a supervisory license, which they said is offered only to a person on a waiting list. To join a waiting list, they said a vendor must have a mobile food vending license, which is a type of license allowing a person to work on any food vending unit with a permit.
As reported, City Council Member Pierina Sanchez’s package of street vending bills passed with a supermajority (39/51) on Dec. 18, 2025, marking a historical milestone for the street vending community after years of advocacy and with what was described as a broad coalition of support. Though former New York City Mayor Eric Adams vetoed the bills, along with around 16 others, on the last day of his term on Dec. 31, 2025, the veto was subsequently overridden by the council and they are now law.
Known as the “Street Vendor Reform Package,” Sanchez said last year that the package allows New York City’s smallest businesses to grow within a regulated, predictable, and enforceable system that bolsters the City’s business and hospitality sector overall.
Of the latest announcement regarding expanding more licenses to people with disabilities and veterans, the council member said, “New York City is finally on a pathway toward a balanced street vending system. From the Council’s override of the mayoral veto on my bill, which will expand access to more than 10,000 vending licenses over the coming years, to the NYC Health Department reopening the mobile food vending waiting list for veterans and people with disabilities pursuant to Local Law 18 of 2021, we are beginning to correct decades of exclusion.”
She added, “For far too long, hardworking vendors were forced into the shadows by an outdated system. Expanding access to licenses is an important step toward dignity, order, and opportunity. I look forward to continuing to work with the NYC Health Department to fully implement Local Law 54 of 2026 starting this summer.”
Photo by Síle Moloney
Meanwhile, NYC Department of Small Business Services Commissioner Kenny Minaya said street vendors are the smallest of small businesses and a defining part of New York City’s economy, neighborhoods, and culture. “Reopening the license waitlist for the first time since 2023 marks an important step forward, and SBS is excited to help spread the word so eligible military veterans and people with disabilities can take advantage of this opportunity,” he said.
Minaya added, “I want to thank Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Martin and look forward to building on this progress through SBS’s new Office of Street Vendor Services to ensure vendors have the support they need to succeed in every borough.”
Finally, Nisha Agarwal, commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, said too often, people with disabilities face barriers to employment and entrepreneurship. “Opening the supervisory license waiting list helps expand fair access to opportunity and supports the right of New Yorkers with disabilities to participate fully in the city’s economy,” she said. “We look forward to continuing to work with our partners to ensure pathways like mobile food vending are accessible and inclusive.”
To apply to join the waiting list for a supervisory license, applicants may visit nyc.gov/health/mobilefood, or call 311 to request an application. To join the waiting list, the applicant must be at least 18 years old and hold a current, valid mobile food vendor license, which is different from a supervisory license.
According to the health department, there is no waiting list to obtain a mobile food vendor license. To get one, applicants must submit a license application, pay the required fee (U.S. veterans are exempt from the fee), and complete the Food Protection Course for Mobile Food Vendors.
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