Innovative Ideas. Independent Policy.
In this policy brief, the Center documents that city street fairs are dominated by a handful of the same vendors selling bland items like tube socks and t-shirts, and that a surprisingly high percentage of vendors are based outside of the city. It calls on the city to make the fairs less generic.
by Jonathan Bowles and Tara Colton
Click here to read the full report (PDF).
Update: October 2008 Update: Changes Ahead for NYC’s Street Fairs? Our 2006 report about the problems with New York’s street fairs may now be prompting the Bloomberg administration to consider wholesale changes in how the events are run. The New York Times reported that Mayor Bloomberg recently said that street fairs were too numerous and too homogeneous, echoing our critique that street fairs are overly generic and don’t reflect what’s unique about the city.
Metro New York, by Amy Zimmer, August 07, 2006
City Residents Battle ‘Cookie Cutter’ Street Fairs,The New York Sun, by Gary Shapiro, February 01, 2007
Take it or leave it, Street fairsTime Out New York, by Michael Ventura, July 09, 2009
De Blasio Will Try To Make NYC Street Fairs Less GenericGothamist, by David Colon , September 21, 2016
Study Slams NYC Street FairsamNewYork, by Michael Clancy, August 07, 2006
Bloomberg discusses street fairs in budget talksColumbia Spectator, by Andrea Garcia Vargas, March 25, 2010
Tube Socks, Funnel Cake and Fruit Smoothies: NYC Street Fairs Are GenericGothamist, by Jen Chung, August 07, 2006
On Transient Retailing in NYC: Hold the Tube Socks!Curbed, August 07, 2006
Time To Curb One-Way Street FairsThe New York Daily News, by Lenore Skenazy, August 09, 2006
Fifth Avenue Fair offers taste of SlopeBrooklyn Daily, by Max Jaeger, May 16, 2014
This SocksWNYC, by The Brian Lehrer Show,, August 11, 2006
Street Fair Backlash Gaining MomentumGothamist, by John Del Signore, October 13, 2008
Here’s what the future of city’s street fairs could look likeDNAinfo, by Nicole Levy, June 09, 2016
The Blandness of the Asphalt FairgroundThe New York Times, by Francis X. Clines, August 12, 2006
NYC Tests Revamping the Street FairNext City, by Jen Kinney, June 10, 2016
The Jewel Box of Union SquareThe New York Times, by Caroline H. Dworin, December 19, 2008
De Blasio administration proposes sweeping changes to street fairsPolitico, by Laura Nahmias, September 21, 2016
Tube Socks Time: The Street Fairs CometThe Gowanus Lounge, May 03, 2007
City Nixes Pride Street Fair MoveThe New York Blade, by Steven Weinstein, May 11, 2007
Fair Too AverageBrooklyn Downtown Star, by Timothy Fleming, August 10, 2007
Report: Street Fairs Don’t Reflect City’s UniquenessNew York 1, August 06, 2006
Flatbush Frolic: ‘More Than Just Socks and Sausages’Brooklyn Daily Eagle, by Evan Lerner, September 19, 2007
Study Says New York Street Fairs Are All the SameThe Associated Press, by Karen Matthews, August 06, 2006
All’s Not Fair In Street Fairs, Group ClaimsThe New York Times, by Thomas J. Lueck, August 07, 2006
Back Rubs? Check. Chickens? Not at These Fairs.The New York Times, by Cara Buckley, October 13, 2008
Study Claims Street Fairs Are Too GenericWNYC, by Julie Walker, August 07, 2006
Board 1 Approves 12 Street Fairs for 2007The Queens Gazette, by Richard Gentilviso, December 27, 2006
Plan to Rein In New York’s Street Fairs Prompts Unexpected BacklashNew York TImes, by J. David Goodman, November 08, 2016
City Plans Fewer, Shorter Street FairsWNYC, by Janaya Williams, March 14, 2011
OCECM To Re-evaluate Street Fair RulesQueens Gazette, by Richard Gentilviso, November 16, 2016
New Street Fair Rules Make Mozzarepas Harder to FundGotham Gazette, by Michael Mandelkern, May 13, 2011
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