NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY)’s vending unit has apparently stepped up its patrols together with members of the NYPD in an effort to curb illegal vending across the city.

 

Norwood News was witness to one such enforcement action on Tuesday, May 6, at the corner of the Grand Concourse and East Fordham Road in Fordham Manor. As the enforcement team arrived with a large truck and at least one NYPD vehicle, the fruit vendor in question, a young woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, walked away from her tent and the multiple crates of fruit and vegetables.

 

A passerby, seemingly, allowed the vendor to use his phone to make a call. Later, we asked the unidentified male passerby if he knew how long the vendor had been working at the location. “It’s been a short time she’s been working here, not too long,” he said, adding that this was based on the information she had relayed to him.

Having taken in what had unfolded, the man continued, “She shows up with all the merchants here and they (the enforcement team) came to pick it [the tent] up.” Asked if he knew if the vendor had a license, the man said, “No.” He alleged the female vendor had recently arrived from Guatemala “illegally.”

 

Asked if police had asked her for ID, the man said, “No, she ran away.” Asked if he knew how long the woman had been in The Bronx, the man said, “Maybe two months; something like that. You know they’re recruiting a lot of immigrant people to work. She tried her best.”

 

We asked for his thoughts on the vendor crackdown. “All the people know that this is illegal,” he said. “They don’t have a license for vending. I believe they’re trying to do the job or they believe they can do the job.” He added, “It’s not only here, it’s all over the city.”

 

Tremont resident Charles Gibson later told Norwood News of the crackdown, “That’s not a danger to nobody. Nobody died eating fruit. The NYPD never has their priorities straight.”

A second enforcement action was allegedly carried out along East Fordham Road at the Grand Concourse on March 25 as seen in a video posted to Tik Tok by “Johandry News.”  The video shows nearly a dozen police officers carting away tables of food to a waiting truck.

 

The site of the enforcement action was a short distance from where a fruit vendor was beaten with a baseball bat on September 24, 2024, after attempting to stop two men from stealing his fruit. The two men were later apprehended, as reported at the time. Another vendor was slashed in Bedford Park in 2023, as reported, and there was another separate assault on a Bedford Park vendor also in 2024.

 

Meanwhile, while permits still remain an issue for undocumented immigrant vendors, we understand that the recent Kingsbridge Armory deal struck between Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition and 8th Regiment Partners aims to serve, at least in terms of space, those vendors who have long operated in the shadows of the historic structure. Under the deal, one fifth of the site will be devoted to community ownership, as reported.

 

When asked about the two latest enforcement actions, an NYPD spokesperson said, “There are no reports on file with the information provided.” However, Vincent Gragnani, press secretary for DSNY, confirmed the two raids, saying, “The first enforcement action you described was DSNY’s Vending Unit conducting operations on Grand Concourse and East Kingsbridge Road on May 6. We conducted four inspections in which all four vendors abandoned their set-ups, resulting in four confiscations and 5,000 pounds of food donated.”

According to DSNY, confiscated food is given to local food pantries and if the fruit or vegetables are spoiled, they are composted. Gragnani described a second confiscation at East Fordham Road and Grand Concourse on Friday, May 2. Of that operation, Gragnani said, “We conducted eight inspections in which nearly all the vendors abandoned their set-ups. We issued two summonses and made eight confiscations, resulting in 14,200 pounds of food donated and 50 pounds of food composted.”

 

Gragnani said the campaign to rid the streets of illegal vendors began in April 2023. “Our enforcement work is rooted in the belief that all New Yorkers, across every neighborhood, in every borough, deserve clean, safe sidewalks,” he said. His remarks were supported by at least one resident, Sebastien Nussbaum, with whom we spoke at the opening of the constituency office for Assemblyman George Alvarez (A.D. 78) on Webster Avenue in April 2023.

 

Nussbaum said he was concerned about lack of oversight of street vendors as he didn’t know if the cleanliness of the produce they sold was being checked. He was also concerned and shared some photos with us of a food truck parked on a street corner in the district with what looked like gas tanks exposed at the back which he said was highly dangerous were another vehicle to crash into it.

 

Additionally, in October 2024, in the context of discussions on the then-proposed opening of a transitional housing development at 2586 Bainbridge Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, a Fordham Road area resident had complained about a food truck that was habitually parked on Creston Avenue in front of Citibank which she alleged didn’t respect parking regulations. She also questioned if it was selling food at a discounted rate that may not have been refrigerated.

 

Of course, Norwood News has also reported in the past on support for street vendors by community members amid previous vendor crackdowns, and based on discussions at recent community meetings, there is also a lot of sympathy for immigrants who may now be more fearful of their livelihoods in light of the uptick in raids by the U.S. Department of Immigration, Customs & Enforcement (ICE) in recent months.

 

According to statistics provided by DSNY, between July 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, DSNY and the NYPD conducted 8,390 inspections resulting in 4,837 summonses and 3,374 confiscations. The department said it donated 1,229,919 pounds of food to local shelters and that 108,279 pounds of fruits and vegetables were composted.

 

DSNY officials said non-food items and vendor equipment that is confiscated can be reclaimed from DSNY.

 

On May 21, it appeared that both impacted vendors were back in business at their respective locations.

Meanwhile, Queens Council Member Joann Ariola (C.D. 32) has introduced legislation to combat illegal street vending. The bill, Intro 1164, would require the Office of Street Vendor Enforcement (OSVE) to create a portal that would allow all agencies enforcing street vending laws and regulations to share enforcement-related information. The legislation would also ensure that each agency has the capability to verify the authenticity of a vendor’s license.”

 

As reported, New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez had invited proposals from retail or food service businesses to operate in three different spaces at Fordham Plaza located on Fordham Road and Third Avenue on the Fordham / Belmont border.

 

Meanwhile, the Bronx Night Market returned on June 28 to 1 Fordham Plaza. Now, in its final season (definitively), The Bronx Night Market features over 30 local vendors and displays a diverse range of cuisines. Admission is free. For more information, visit eventbrite.com/BronxNightMarket.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.