City Proposes Another Year of Street Fair Moratorium, Citing NYPD

The city’s Street Activity Permit Office wants to deny permits next year for any new street fair longer than one block or one day, extending into 2027 a moratorium already in place for 2026. The proposal ran in a city notice Oct. 23, and a hearing is set for Nov. 24.

What changes

The rule changes two numbers. Where it now says the office will deny 2026 permits for fairs not held in 2025, it would say 2027 permits for fairs not held in 2026.

• Fairs that got permits in 2026 “may be eligible” to get them again in 2027.
• New fairs of one block and one day can still apply, and the director may approve them at his or her discretion.
• New fairs that are bigger or longer will be denied.

Why: police overtime

The office, part of the Mayor’s Office of Citywide Event Coordination and Management, issues permits for more than 200 street fairs and more than 5,000 other events a year. It says police must be on site at these events, which pulls officers from “core crime fighting, public safety and counter-terrorism duties” and adds overtime costs.

The NYPD recommended the denials. The notice says the proposal was not on the office’s regulatory agenda because it “was not contemplated” when the agenda was published, though it is the same moratorium with the years changed.

Mailed comments go to Shaneek Meachum, SAPO Director, 253 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Note that written comments close the day before the hearing.

What the notice does not say

It gives no overtime figures, no count of new fairs denied under the 2026 moratorium and no estimate of the savings.

Details as filed. Verify times and locations before attending.