The Economics of New York Pushcarts
People who visit New York City sometimes expect all the food to be expensive and hoity toity, but the truth is hundreds of thousands of people get cheap, simple, and tasty meals every single day from one of the many pushcarts on the streets. Benjamin Levisohn of the New York Daily News talked to some of the vendors to learn about the economics of pushcarts.
One of the men he spoke to, Mohamad Ali, spent six years working at someone else's cart in Midtown, saving up the money to buy his own: "It wasn't cheap: The city only charges $200 for a permit, but with the number that are issued capped at 3,000, there's a thriving secondary market for the documents. Ali paid $6,000 for his permit." He then spent a whopping $16,000 on the cart itself, a custom deluxe model from a metal shop in Queens that specializes in carts. It's a big investment but far less than he'd spend on opening a restaurant; Ali can afford an apartment in Jersey City for his family, and he likes the freedom of being his own boss. [via Eater]
Also: forget the Tony Awards, the best awards show in the city has got to be The Vendy Awards, "an Iron Chef-style cookoff & awards ceremony to honor the city's best street food vendors while also recognizing the contributions that all street vendors make to New York City's rich cultural (and culinary) life." The Third Annual Vendys are scheduled for this September.
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