General Vendor — Vending Over a Ventilation Grate, Cellar Door, Manhole or Subway Grating

A general vendor may not vend over any ventilation grill, cellar door, manhole, transformer vault, or subway access grating. Covering a subway vent blocks the air circulation the tunnels below depend on, which is why this is one of the few placement rules that carries immediate seizure authority. Cite when a stand, cart, table or displayed goods sit ON TOP OF a grate or vault cover, not merely beside one. SCOPE LIMIT — this prohibition applies to GENERAL vendors (merchandise, art, printed matter). It does NOT apply to a licensed mobile food vending unit: §17-315 contains no ventilation-grating provision, and there is no food-vendor equivalent anywhere in the Administrative Code. If the photo shows a FOOD cart (griddle, steam table, menu board, food signage) on a grate, do NOT cite this rule and do NOT invent a food-vendor grating citation — evaluate DOT-VND-003 (a cart must abut the curb) instead. Keep confidence at or below 0.7 unless the grate is unambiguously beneath the stand.

• stand, cart or goods resting on a ribbed metal sidewalk grate
• table legs or wheels standing on a subway ventilation grating
• merchandise, boxes or a tarp spread across a cellar door or vault cover

1. Photograph vendor setup, cart, and whether permit decal is visible.
2. Note distance from curb, crosswalk, or subway entrance.
3. File at 311 under Vendor Enforcement or Mobile Food Vendor.

Official channel: portal.311.nyc.gov or dial 311. Agency: NYC DCWP.

DCWP and DOHMH fines vary by license type; unlicensed vending can result in confiscation and fines over $1,000.

DCWP and NYPD enforce vending rules. Food vendors also fall under DOHMH grade and permit requirements.

• Street vendors