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Extension of Street Fair Moratorium for Calendar Year 2026

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Rule status: Proposed

Agency: CECM-SAPO

Comment by date: November 20, 2025

Rule Full Text
Extension-of-Street-Fair-Moratorium-for-Calendar-Year-2026.pdf

The Office of Citywide Events Coordination and Management (CECM), which oversees the Street Activity Permit Office (SAPO), administers New York City’s permit system for street activities, including block parties and fairs. Each year SAPO issues permits to over 200 street fairs and over 5,000 other events, most of which include the use of multiple blocks over several days, the erection of structures, the vending of food, apparel and other goods and the use of amplified sound and the performance of music. To ensure the safety and proper order of these events, members of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) must be on-site. This diverts resources away from regular assignments and increases overtime costs to the City. These events also divert NYPD from core crime fighting, public safety and counter-terrorism duties. To more effectively deploy police resources and control overtime costs, the NYPD has recommended that SAPO exercise its discretion to deny permit applications for new events in calendar year 2026. The proposed rules will authorize SAPO to deny permit applications for street fairs if the street fair was not held in the calendar year 2025. Events that received permits in calendar year 2025 may be eligible to receive permits again in calendar year 2026. SAPO will continue to accept applications for new street fairs that are no more than one block in length and one day in duration. CECM authority for these rules is found in section 1043 of the New York City Charter and Executive Order Nos. 100 and 105 of 2007.

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  • Email: [email protected]
  • Mail: CECM, 253 Broadway, 6th Floor ; New York, New York 10007

Public Hearings

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Date

November 20, 2025
10:00am - 11:00am EST

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Comments close by November 20, 2025

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Online comments: 9

  • 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