By Forum Staff
The Street Activity Permit Office of the Office of Citywide Event Coordination and Management is proposing amendments to extend the existing moratorium on street fair applications to 2025.
The Office of Citywide Events Coordination and Management, which oversees the Street Activity Permit Office, 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, and 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 City Police Department has recommended that SAPO exercise its discretion to deny permit applications for new events in calendar year 2025. The proposed rules will authorize SAPO to deny permit applications for street fairs if the street fair was not held in the calendar year 2024. Events that received permits in calendar year 2024 may be eligible to receive permits again in calendar year 2025.
So what authorizes CECM to make this rule? Section 1043 of the City Charter as well as Executive Orders No. 100 and No. 105 of 2007 authorize CECM to make this proposed rule. This proposed rule was not included in CECM’s regulatory agenda for this Fiscal Year because it was not contemplated when CECM published the agenda.
CECM will hold a public hearing on the proposed rule online. The public hearing will take place on Nov. 20, at 10 a.m.
Join through Internet: To join the hearing via your browser, copy and paste the following link into your browser’s address bar: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join .Then follow the prompts. When prompted enter the following Meeting ID: 247279188732 and Password: 8efNKi
Join via phone only:
To join the meeting by phone, use the following information to connect:
Phone: +1 332-910-6701
Access code: 898167764#
Anyone can comment on the proposed rules by:
Website: You can submit comments to CECM through the NYC rules website at nyc.gov/nycrules.
Email: You can email written comments to saporules@cityhall.nyc.gov.
Mail: You can mail written comments to Shaneek Meachum, SAPO deputy director, Mayor’s Office of Citywide Event Coordination and Management, at 253 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10007.
Anyone wishing to comment on the proposed rule at the public hearing must sign up to speak. You can sign up before the hearing by emailing saporules@cityhall.nyc.gov by Nov. 19 at 5 p.m. You can speak for up to three minutes. Each speaker will be timed. Please note that the hearing is for accepting oral testimony only and is not held in a “Question and Answer” format.
