Among the 150 pushcarts vendor sites in New York City's public parks, the 20 highest license fees are in Central Park - each exceeding $100,000. Four of the carts around Central Park pay in excess of $200,000 a year. The highest real estate for a push car vendor is $289,500 a year. Mohammad Mastafa pays that much to the city to operate his cart at Fifth Avenue and East 62nd Street, near the Central Park Zoo. That leading charge is followed by that for the location on the West Drive at 67th Street near Tavern on the Green, which comes to an annual fee of $266, 850. The annual fee some vendors pay has doubled or tripled in the past decade. The fee for the same location now inhabited by Mr. Mastafa was $120,000 less ten years ago. The park's department's pushcart concessions now generate over $4.5 million in annual revenue for the city's general fund.
Though vendors are tight lipped about the profits they bring in, the profits must be high enough to warrant paying such extreme licensing fees. However, ancillary cost add up, such as the salaries of the workers who usually run them, product costs, delivery of ice several times a day and transporting carts fro warehouses or garages. Sales fluctuate wildly based on weather, day of the week and time of year. The department sets maximum prices. They face competition from disabled veterans, who can charge less on prime curbside locations, because the city’s health department, which grants their licenses, has waved their licensing fees to the city.
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Photo Credit: New York Times