FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 14, 2018 • QUEENS BUSINESS • THE QUEENS COURIER 43
queens business
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Yanping Nora Soong
New bill would limit street vendors in downtown Flushing
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Flushing-based lawmaker wants
the city to limit vendors that, he says,
are causing traffi c and pollution on the
neighborhood’s walkways.
Councilman Peter Koo has introduced
a bill that would prohibit all sidewalk
obstructions in downtown Flushing. It
would also limit stoop line stands in certain
areas of the neighborhood.
Sidewalks on Main Street, which is the
second-busiest pedestrian corridor in the
entire city, were widened up to nine feet
in certain portions as part of a $7.8 million
infrastructure project completed in
late 2017. While the project was meant
to relieve overcrowding, Koo says the
extra space has given rise to street vendors
operating illegally and selling wares
including fruits and vegetables, counterfeit
handbags, cellphones and health
insurance.
Under the change, stoop line stands
would be prohibited at locations in the
heart of downtown Flushing, including
Main Street between Northern Boulevard
and Sanford Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue
between College Point Boulevard and
Union Street and 40th Road between
Prince and Main Streets.
General and food vending would also
be prohibited in the area bounded by
Northern Boulevard to the north, Union
Street to the east, Sanford Avenue to the
south and College Point Boulevard to
the west.
“We are overrun with sidewalk
obstructions, and our sidewalks have
become an obstacle course,” the councilman
said. “As a small business owner,
I have no objection to people innovating
in order to turn a profi t, but I wholeheartedly
object to those who do so at the
expense of their community.”
Koo’s second bill would prohibit the
use of under-fi red char broilers in mobile
food vending units throughout the city.
According to recent testimony by the
city’s Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene, one food vendor grilling meat
for a day emits the same amount of particulate
pollution as a diesel truck driving
3,500 miles. Th e bill would not restrict
fl attop grills.
“Th e under-fi red char broilers used
by street vendors are responsible for a
signifi cant amount of particulate matter
in our air,” Koo said. “Not only are
the grillers breathing this in, but it also
impacts nearby residents, businesses and
others who must endure the clouds of
smoke blowing in their windows and
hanging over the street. Making these
vendors more environmentally safe will
reduce particulate matter and signifi -
cantly improve the air quality of our
city.”
Each bill has been referred to the
Council’s Committee on Consumer
Aff airs and Business Licensing.
A street vendor operates a fruit stand in downtown Flushing
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