NYC Green Carts

[Fat Guy]

There has of late been a proliferation of "Green Carts" (sidewalk produce vendors) around NYC. What do we all think of them? Me, I find them an excellent resource for fruit purchases in between the big weekly grocery-store trip.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I've sometimes bought produce from Madura at Bleecker and 6th Ave., who is one of the Greenmarket vendors. He's not there every day, but usually has good produce and particularly mushrooms and specialties like fiddleheads when they're in season.

[Fat Guy]

For those not up on the terminology, the Green Cart program is as follows, according to the city governement website:

Green Carts are mobile food carts that offer fresh produce in certain New York City areas. Local Law 9, signed by Mayor Bloomberg on March 13, 2008, establishes 1,000 permits for Green Carts.

A Green Cart can only sell raw fruits and vegetables such as whole carrots, bananas, apples and berries. For food safety reasons, Green Cart operators cannot cut, slice, peel or process fruits or vegetables on the cart.

To operate a Green Cart, vendors must have a valid mobile food vending license and a Green Cart permit. Each Green Cart permit allows a cart to operate in one New York City borough only. Within each borough, Green Carts can operate in certain designated areas.

A total of 500 full-term permits were made available in 2008: 175 permits for Brooklyn, 175 for the Bronx, 75 for Manhattan, 50 for Queens, and 25 for Staten Island. Beginning August 2009, 500 more Green Cart permits will be available.

I've also been noticing more news coverage of the Green Cart phenomenon. Here's something from the New York Times profiling a Green Cart vendor in Queens. Among other things, it establishes the basic tension between Green Carts and bricks-and-mortar vendors:

But not everyone is a fan of Ms. Prieto’s. Her presence has clearly angered Abdul Salam, who has operated a larger fruit stand tucked away across the street in Jamaica’s food hall for the past 10 years. He said that Green Carts like Ms. Prieto’s had hurt his sales and created “too much competition.”