Metro exclusive
Dozens of vendors still swarm Brooklyn
Bridge in free-for-all — selling illegal
cocktails, pics with live snake: photos
By Matthew Sedacca , Dean Balsamini and Georgia Worrell
Published Sep. 23, 2023, 9:03 a.m. ET
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The rising black-market pandemonium has exploded on the bridge since the city moved cyclists to a
protected lane on the roadway two years ago.
Illegal vendors — and few legal ones — quickly filled the void and today grab any free spot they can
commandeer, setting up umbrellas, tables filled with all manner of tchotchkes, galleries of paintings, and
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Here’s a bird’s-eye view of the daily bedlam that erupts on
the Brooklyn Bridge. 85,212
The Post last week hovered 1,500 feet above the span in a
helicopter to catalog the chaos on the 1.14-mile-long historic
landmark.
The photographer captured images of a shocking free-for-all,
with at least 26 peddlers hawking miniature Statues of
Liberty, pot-leaf caps, and stuffed llamas — and some selling 14-foot alligator caught carrying
lifeless human body down a canal
illegal cocktails or selfies with a live snake.
And that was just on the Manhattan side. 69,498
“It’s like a football field of vendors,” said Lower East Sider
Katie Raffa, 33. “Someday, this is going to cause a
stampede. I think it’s very dangerous and very concerning.”
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The Post captured images of a shocking free-for-all, with at least 26 peddlers across the Brooklyn Bridge. New city rule will sprout more
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On a recent afternoon, cocktail vendors quietly advertised their illicit drinks by displaying a metal bin filled
See All Columnists
with margarita ingredients, including bottles of Jose Cuervo silver and gold tequila, Jose Cuervo margarita
mix, lemon juice, and salt.

For $15, a bartender dumped the silver tequila and other ingredients into a miniature metal cocktail shaker Page Six Style
with ice, which she then poured into 10-ounce plastic cups.
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“You got to evolve, you got to ride the wave,” one of the margarita vendors said. to shop in 2023

The State Liquor Authority said it had not approved any alcohol sales on the Brooklyn Bridge, and the
vendors hid their hooch when a Sanitation Department worker passed by. Natalia Bryant makes
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For $15, a bartender dumped the silver tequila and other ingredients into a miniature metal cocktail shaker with ice, which Sharna Burgess announces Brian
she then poured into 10-ounce plastic cups. Austin Green proposed 2 months ago:
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“The laws don’t apply for me,” the vendor crowed. Celeb chef Angie Mar opens latest
hotspot Le B as Beatrice Inn homage
Legal vendors are infuriated by the illegal competitors.
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Jose Loor, 56, last year got a disabled veteran license to peddle T-shirts and hoodies emblazoned with
Big Apple designs on the bridge.
Video
“The more space you create, the more people are going to come. That’s just the facts,” he said. “It’s
congested and difficult because you’re fighting with immigrants out here.” Let 'er rip: Neighbor’s hilarious fart
caught on camera

A margarita vendor said that longtime bridge hawkers had to “evolve” to keep up with the new competition.
J.C. Rice

Licensed vendor Bernardo Hidalgo, 66, who hawks US president bobbleheads in addition to the usual
NYC-themed pens and magnets, ripped the rogue newcomers for mistreating tourists — and eating at
least 20% of his sales.

“They’re selling the same item for a different price, maybe lower than what you paid,” Hidalgo cried. “It’s
bad for vendors, for people that invest . . . at the end of the night.”

Designed by John Roebling and completed in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was an engineering marvel that
offered New Yorkers a chance to breathe fresh air and gaze upon the harbor with its unique pedestrian
promenade, according to Jeff Richman, author of “Building the Brooklyn Bridge: An Illustrated History.”

The Sanitation Department recently cracked down on illegal vending across the city beginning in April and has issued
137 summonses along the span since.
Paul Martinka

“The Brooklyn Bridge is a New York City icon and landmark. It should be appreciated for what it is,”
Richman told The Post. “Vendors up and down the bridge distract from that vision, from the very purpose
of walking across it.”

The Sanitation Department recently cracked down on illegal vending across the city beginning in April and
has issued 137 summonses along the span since.

The Sanitation patrol, however, has provided little deterrence.

The vendors “come back a half hour later,” one Sanitation worker said.

With little law enforcement going on, tourists can now pose for photos with the skyline in the background
— or a snake around their arms.
Tourists nowadays can pose for photos with the skyline in the background — or with a snake.
Helayne Seidman

The rising black-market pandemonium has exploded on the bridge since the city moved cyclists to a protected lane on
the roadway two years ago.
J.C. Rice

“Ten dollars and you can take as many photos as you like,” said Jersey City resident Jewell Beasley, 25,
owner of a jungle boa named Pumpkin who operates on the Brooklyn side. “She’s very friendly.”

Some vendors, however, are hostile as they fight for space.

“Get a small table and try to set it up, you’ll see how people will [literally] push you away,” said Loor. “I’m
not used to the street — I’m used to law and order.”

What do you think? Post a comment.

Mona Bruno, a spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation, which in May proposed a rule
banning all vending on the city’s bridges, said the agency is working to address issues with hawkers and
maintain pedestrian flow.

“We look forward to considering any public comments once the proposed rule draft is complete and
published in the City Record,” she said.

The agency expects the ban will be implemented in the coming fiscal year.

Filed under alcohol brooklyn bridge cocktails vendors 9/23/23

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Papa Smurf
3 minutes ago
Since the gov likes illegal ppl, let’s defunded the vendor permit department .. they are
others from starting up their own business , esp. for Americans

I can make money selling lemonade and sweet tea too

Reply Share

ILOVeGATES INEEDGATES
59 seconds ago
Welcome to the third world; bought and paid for by Soros and his bought-off clowns
Reply 1 Share

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