Extension of Street Fair Moratorium for Calendar Year 2026

Online comments: 26

• anonymous

  Extensions of this moratorium prevent new community groups from hosting community events that bring neighbors closer together and provide free programming for lower income families, all of which is in service of increasing public safety and community cohesion. NYPD should work with City Hall to create more efficient methods to provide coverage for these essential activities, including developing a more streamlined process for providing coverage to SAPO-authorized events. Only allowing the same events to happen year after year prevents community groups, especially newer ones, adapt to changing preferences and needs among neighborhoods.

  Comment added October 20, 2025 2:11pm

• laurie chaumont

  New street fair events are as important to public usage as are ones from previous years. I think a metric other than just a previous permit needs to be determined for reducing the number of street fairs. Preventing new permits limits public creativity in NYC.

  Comment added October 21, 2025 10:24am

• Robyn Glenn

  Hello,
  I am a long-time street activity holder (19 years for R.H.S.B.A. block party events, 75th Precinct area) and greatly appreciate SAPO/CECM allowing us to have it continuously without any discrepancies/cancellations.
  However, I would like to suggest a comment to be considered regarding feedback from you. Can we receive approval notification in at least 3 weeks prior to the scheduled date because at our event, family members come from other states/countries and preparation can be quite difficult when knowing it’s a “go” 3-4 days of that same week. Thank you

  Comment added October 21, 2025 4:53pm

• Bob Bieder

  I do not believe street activity permits should be restricted, I do think that 1 day block party permits should be issued by community boards as they are better equipped to know the neighborhoods and better able to coordinate with sanitation, police, and fire departments.

  Comment added October 22, 2025 2:39pm

• Marco Shalma

  Opposition to the Extension of the Street Fair Moratorium for 2026

  As the founder of MASC Hospitality Group — producers of community-based cultural events like the Bronx, Uptown, Brooklyn Night Markets, the New York Latin Food Fest, and Harlem Summer Nights- I strongly oppose the proposed extension of the street fair moratorium for 2026.

  This blanket extension continues to penalize responsible, long-standing producers who have successfully operated safe, well-managed, and culturally meaningful events that generate millions in local economic activity and provide vital exposure for small New York food and retail businesses.

  SAPO’s own mission is to support the equitable use of city streets for public benefit. Continuing the moratorium effectively shuts out new, community-driven events while protecting only legacy street fairs that may not reflect the city’s current cultural landscape.

  Rather than another blanket freeze, SAPO should introduce a selective review process that allows applications from:
  • Proven event producers with a strong compliance and safety record
  • Events demonstrating measurable community, tourism, or small business impact
  • Partnerships with BIDs, city agencies, and community organizations

  We support reasonable limits on police deployment and overtime costs — but innovation and community engagement should not be casualties of administrative convenience. The city needs more spaces for people to gather, not fewer.

  New York’s cultural economy depends on flexibility and evolution. I urge SAPO to reject a one-size-fits-all moratorium and instead open a fair, transparent path for new or reimagined community events in 2026.

  Comment added October 27, 2025 8:50am

• Jacob Ford

  If NYPD are so necessary onsite at SAPO events, why do they get overtime pay for doing their normal job? Street fairs are fun, let’s have more of them. Save money elsewhere.

  Comment added November 3, 2025 4:48pm

• Anonymous

  I am dismayed that CECM is once again trying to suppress street life and activity across the city. This is a callous and heavy-handed approach that must be reconsidered.

  Comment added November 14, 2025 2:48pm

• Alex Sramek

  No new events in New York City?

  What kind of absurd nonsense is this?

  As a new small business owner looking to start selling at street fairs, this would be terrible. And NYC is a city known for its hustle and its creativity. How are you gonna say no to new events? We’re on the edge of economic mayhem in this country right now, and the last thing we need to do is make it harder for local businesses and communities.

  I don’t see anything in the proposal about some new pressing budgetary need this year. Why the sudden change? Do you hate fun?

  Comment added November 14, 2025 3:10pm

• Pete Saratte-Fortrain

  What this proposed rule doesn’t say:

  This moratorium has been ongoing since 2016. Blaz was mayor, nobody knew what Covid was, and with population churn, there’s a million-plus New Yorkers here today who weren’t here then. These communities have never had an opportunity to apply for a street fair.

  The number and duration of street fairs has plummeted. Last year, there were 677 street fair-days. The year before that, 727. In 2019, there were 763. That is according to a quick look at this data, filtering to street festivals: https://data.cityofnewyork.us/City-Government/NYC-Permitted-Event-Information-Historical/bkfu-528j/data_preview

  The City has never done a cost-benefit analysis, or if they have, they haven’t bothered to share it with us. We don’t know how much the NYPD spends on street fair-specific overtime, we don’t know how much tax revenue they generate, and we don’t know if the city has considered alternatives, like… less police.

  I don’t work in the street-fair industry. But I think there needs to be an open dialogue before we just rubber-stamp the policies of the past. The city is a living, breathing thing.

  Comment added November 15, 2025 7:52am

• Emily Farris

  My name is Emily Farris and I live in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I oppose the proposed rule change because it is part of a move to restrict all kinds of events on New York City streets, including community-led gatherings (like The Longest Table) that are essential to our civic life. While this rule is intended to regulate large commercial street fairs, in practice SAPO has become increasingly restrictive to small, noncommercial events like block parties and cultural celebrations. These neighbor-led gatherings help strengthen our civic life — they allow people to meet across cultures and generations, build public safety through local relationships, and strengthen neighborhood resilience. I can testify to this personally after hosting The Longest Table in Greenpoint – the community was overjoyed by this event, and we met so many fellow community members during a time of gentrification, where community is needed more than ever! Restricting activity permits will shut out most local groups, especially in lower-income and immigrant communities. The City should build an accessible, quick, and low-cost process, to encourage these events, instead of restricting them further. Our streets should be places for public life, not just for cars or commerce.

  Comment added November 15, 2025 2:01pm

• Tom Harris

  My name is Tom Harris and I am the President of the Times Square Alliance, the business improvement district that exists to make Times Square clean, safe, and desirable for all. Times Square is a neighborhood unlike any other in New York City, known for its vibrant plaza space, iconic arts, culture, and theatre programming, and active pedestrian flows. While we recognize the benefits of street fairs, particularly in neighborhoods looking to attract additional visitors, more street fairs would adversely affect our already overburdened district.

  The Alliance and its stakeholders actively program our streets and plazas with art and events that highlight and complement the unique nature of our neighborhood. With pedestrian counts exceeding 300,000 people, street fairs add chaos to our already congested neighborhood. This moratorium does not eliminate all street fairs, instead capping additional street fair applications for the 2025 calendar year. Times Square is already home to a disproportionate number of street fairs, hosting 10% of all street fairs city wide, despite representing only .1% of the city’s land area. This moratorium will ensure that NYC continues to benefit from the more than 200 street fairs already permitted each year without further congesting neighborhoods like ours.

  Thank you.

  Tom Harris
  President
  Times Square Alliance

  Comment added November 17, 2025 3:37pm

• Eric Peterson

  Extending a moratorium on new SAPO applications is unfair. It shuts out new and innovative events/producers and does not allow for dynamic change in the city.
  If there are neighborhoods/precincts that are over-saturated (eg Midtown West, MTS, MTN, 19 Precincts), limit the number of closures in those areas.
  If police overtime is the issue, require events to pay for a reasonable amount of police coverage.

  Comment added November 18, 2025 2:26pm

• Luke Nash

  I vehemently oppose this proposal.

  1. We ought to cherish and support any initiative in this city that brings people together as a community. As another has commented, the number of yearly street festivals in this city has already decreased in recent years. Extending this moratorium will compound this problem, and negatively impact those who benefit from these community events.

  2. It baffles me that a police presence at a street fair would be considered a diversion from, rather than a core tenet of, “crime fighting, public safety and counter-terrorism duties.” I question why such a duty even qualifies for overtime pay in the first place.

  3. If someone thinks there are currently too many street fairs in their own neighborhood (ex. Times Square) then they ought to look into ways they can manage that without negatively impacting those that live in the other 99.9% of this city.

  Comment added November 18, 2025 2:45pm

• Jessica Kausen Byrnes

  I am a co-director of Park Slope Open Streets, a volunteer-led organization, and I am strongly opposed to this extension. Bringing New Yorkers together for community events should be a priority and be democratized for all. We must remove this moratorium and make room for the future, not continue to be stuck in this never ending loop of extending this. NYC is an ever-evolving beacon of creative ideas and fresh perspectives from new generations. We should not shut down the ability for reputable organizers to create new ways to bring people together.

  Comment added November 18, 2025 8:48pm

• A. Maddox

  To limit the number of permits to previously held events limits the ongoing effort to grow community engagement. Think about this, If this proposal was in place years ago how many cherished events would not be taking place now. Opening up newly arrived city transplants to create and share something new within our neighborhoods is one of the highlights of this city. If we as a city want more people involved than limiting chances to engage will have the opposite effect. Therefore I oppose limiting permits only to previously held events. Thank you.

  Comment added November 19, 2025 7:05am

• Nancy Sheran

  I support the Extension of Street Fair Moratorium for Calendar Year 2026. I live in Midtown Manhattan, a neighborhood that was bombarded with street fairs during the warmer months prior to the moratorium. Neighborhood and community street fairs are unique — they reflect and help the community. Commercial street fairs are repetitive and don’t add value to the community. On the contrary, the disruption of the closed streets, re-routed buses and crazy traffic due to the traffic diversion have a negative impact on the community. Please continue the moratorium on commercial Street Fairs for 2026 and forever!

  Comment added November 19, 2025 3:58pm

• Joanna Rodger

  My name is Joanna Rodger and I live in Greenpoint. I oppose the proposed rule change because it is part of a move to restrict all kinds of events on New York City streets, including community-led gatherings (like The Longest Table) that are essential to our civic life. While this rule is intended to regulate large commercial street fairs, in practice SAPO has become increasingly restrictive to small, noncommercial events like block parties and cultural celebrations. These neighbor-led gatherings help strengthen our civic life — they allow people to meet across cultures and generations, build public safety through local relationships, and strengthen neighborhood resilience. Restricting activity permits will shut out most local groups, especially in lower-income and immigrant communities. The City should build an accessible, quick, and low-cost process, to encourage these events, instead of restricting them further. Our streets should be places for public life, not just for cars or commerce.
  Thank you.

  Comment added November 19, 2025 4:17pm

• Steven Zirinsky, President West 104 Street Block Association

  See attached letter

  Comment attachment
  sapo-letter.wpd-02-01.pdf

  Comment added November 19, 2025 11:41pm

• Brad Hoylman-Sigal

  Please see the attached comment.

  Comment attachment
  Street-Fair-Rule-Comment-NYS-Senator-Hoylman-Sigal.pdf

  Comment added November 20, 2025 9:27am

• Amanda Melhuish

  End the street fair moratorium. The New York City Comptroller’s Office found that an average of just $29.5 million was spent on the festival/fair/parade category of uniformed police overtime yearly (which includes some of the most significant events in the city, like the St. Patrick’s Day Parade — though most street fairs are smaller in size). This is a drop in the bucket of the hundreds of millions of total spent uniformed overtime each year. The rationale for the continuance of this moratorium, being to reduce police overtime, does not reflect the current reality of policing in our city, devalues the safety and necessity of safe and joyful public spaces, and disregards the benefits of such events. The matter of fact reality is that most street fairs do not require the quantity of NYPD officers presently allocated to each one, especially when officers are often seen standing on street corners or on their phones. And while some areas of the city may see more street fairs than others if a moratorium were to be lifted, this can be addressed on a case-by-case basis without a blanket moratorium.

  Comment added November 20, 2025 10:11am

• Anonymous

  Thank you for sharing this information. I understand the rationale behind SAPO’s proposed rules and the NYPD’s concerns regarding resource allocation and overtime costs. However, I believe it’s important that the process not solely prioritize previously approved events. While continuing long-standing events has value, there should also be room to evaluate and consider new proposals that meet community needs, especially in neighborhoods that may not have had the opportunity or capacity to host events in 2025.

  A more balanced approach would allow SAPO to assess all applications—both existing and new—based on community impact, equity, safety plans, and the overall benefit to the city. Limiting new events entirely may unintentionally restrict innovation, access, and opportunities for communities that rely on these gatherings for engagement and local support.

  I hope there can be consideration for a process that evaluates events on their merit rather than solely on historical approval, ensuring fairness and responsiveness to evolving community needs.

  Comment added November 20, 2025 10:21am

• Eric Parker

  My name is Eric Parker, I’m a Brooklynite, a Flatbush resident, and I’m on the team at Open Plans – we promote a people-first street culture for New York City. I’m also here today as someone who’s personally experienced the joy and community-building power of street-level gatherings. Opportunities like street fairs are where neighbors gather in our public spaces to build meaningful relationships that define our city’s culture. Groups like The Longest Table are clear evidence of this. Our streets are the spaces where New York City can fulfill what its leaders often claim it represents: a welcoming, connected, creative, and joyful place.
  I’m here to strongly oppose the extension of the street fair moratorium.
  The continuation of this moratorium impacts not only large commercial street fairs. It threatens to degrade the city’s ecosystem of community-led gatherings that make our neighborhoods feel like neighborhoods. Block parties, potlucks, and cultural celebrations are where neighbors often first meet. They depend on a permitting system that’s accessible, predictable, and supportive of residents who are waiting to bring people together.
  The justification for continuing the moratorium (which is reducing police overtime) doesn’t match the evidence. The Comptroller’s office has made clear that festival and fair overtime is a true fraction of total overtime spending at the NYPD. Meanwhile, the social and economic benefits of community events are enormous.
  These gatherings strengthen local trust, uplift small businesses, and promote vibrant, resilient neighborhood-level economies.
  Events like multi-block gatherings are exactly the kind of activations that government should be supporting, not inadvertently restricting through blanket rules that make no distinction between corporate street fairs and grassroots community projects.
  I urge the CECM and the Street Activity Permit Office to reject the extension of the street fair moratorium, to modernize and clarify the permitting process, make it easier – not harder – for New Yorkers to gather, connect, and build community in our public spaces. Thanks for your time.

  Comment added November 20, 2025 10:33am

• Robert Feltault

  I am strongly opposed to this proposed rule and to continuing the current status quo. The idea of categorically denying applications is simply wrong. As someone who deeply values Open Streets and community public spaces across our city, I know how essential street fairs are. They bring real economic and social benefits to our neighborhoods, especially for food entrepreneurs and small businesses trying to build enough momentum to one day open a brick-and-mortar location.

  The justification for keeping this moratorium — reducing police overtime — doesn’t reflect the reality of policing in New York today, and it dismisses the importance of safe, joyful public space in our communities.

  I urge the City to end the street fair moratorium. The Comptroller’s Office found that only about $29.5 million per year is spent on overtime for festivals, fairs, and parades — a category that includes huge events like the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Most street fairs are far smaller, and this cost is a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions spent on total uniformed overtime. Continuing the moratorium under the guise of reducing overtime ignores reality, undervalues public spaces, and overlooks the enormous benefits these events bring.

  The truth is that most street fairs don’t need the number of NYPD officers they’re currently assigned. Anyone who attends knows how often officers are simply standing around or on their phones. And while some neighborhoods may host more street fairs than others if the moratorium is lifted, that imbalance can be managed on a case-by-case basis — there’s no justification for a blanket ban.

  Street fairs strengthen our communities. They make our neighborhoods vibrant and welcoming. Lifting this moratorium is a key step toward better managing our public space with people — not cars or bureaucracy — at the center. Street fairs help small businesses grow, give food entrepreneurs a platform to reach new customers, bring neighbors together, and encourage visitors to spend locally.

  We should be serious about building a city with lively, people-centered streets, and I hope we can rethink how we treat public space in part by ending this unnecessary and harmful moratorium.

  Comment added November 20, 2025 11:31am

• Council Member Erik Bottcher

  Please see the attached comment.

  Comment attachment
  Street-Fair-Permit-Testimony.pdf

  Comment added November 20, 2025 11:34am

• Anonymous

  There are two main ways to elevate a city. Active – core crime fighting tasks or passive – strengthen the bond between neighbors and increase desire for residents to invest and care for the neighborhood.
  Both are needed and I’d argue the passive ways have a better return on investments.

  Street fares and block parties are great examples of passive ways to improve a neighborhood. Since the city budget is limited, I’d rather see more of it being used in a more forward looking way.

  We should not have more guidelines with the aim to reduce the permits. Success from passive investments can reduce the need for active investments, but not the other way around.

  Comment added November 20, 2025 1:39pm

• Jackson Chabot

  Open Plans respectfully submits the following comments in opposition to the ongoing street fair moratorium.

  Comment added November 20, 2025 3:46pm