Councilmember Sandra Ung met with Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch in downtown Flushing on Friday afternoon to discuss the sanitation issues facing the busy retail corridor and major transit hub.

Councilmember Ung has made addressing the rampant unlicensed vending in downtown Flushing a priority since taking office in 2022. In part through her advocacy, the Adams administration reversed a de Blasio-era transfer of vendor enforcement to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, a civilian-staffed agency with approximately ten enforcement agents for the entire city.

Today, that task is the responsibility of the Department of Sanitation (DSNY), a much larger agency with a staff of uniformed enforcement officers who have the authority to issue fines and confiscate goods. DSNY, which has a long history of keeping New York’s streets and sidewalks clean. 

Today, there is a dedicated street vendor enforcement team for each borough within DSNY that works collaboratively with the NYPD. 

In 2018, the City Council passed legislation designating a large area of downtown Flushing as a no-vending zone. General vending, even with a valid license, is prohibited in an area bounded by Northern Boulevard, Union Street, Sanford Avenue and College Point Boulevard.  

Flushing is one of the busiest neighborhoods in New York City and the primary bus-to-train transfer station in the mass transit system, with tens of thousands of commuters passing through daily. The intersection of Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue is the third busiest intersection in the city.