Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
NYPD Now Cracking Down On Subway Vendors, Performers
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 25, 2014
Modified Mar 26, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
daniel.gene on Flickr
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 25, 2014
Modified Mar 26, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Not only have arrests of subway panhandlers increased threefold over the past year, but it appears the NYPD has also been significantly cracking down on underground vendors and performers. Arrests of subway vendors have increased more than 80 percent since last March, according to reports.
At last night's MTA board meeting, the NYPD Transit Bureau noted that panhandler and vendor arrests were up 174 percent from this time last year. Panhandler arrests made up 256 of the 345 total arrests, with numbers including subway acrobats—a pair of "Showtime!" performers, for instance, were arrested on a C train in January and charged with reckless endangerment. (While it is legal to perform on transit facilities, Transit Authority rules prohibit performances on subway trains or buses).
And 89 of the arrests were of vendors like churro peddlers, who are often found hawking their wares on subway platforms and in stations. That number is nearly double the number of arrests last year. "They are brazen enough to do it in front of you,"; a police source told the Post. "It’s gross. They’re in the subway, which is filthy, selling food no one knows how was made or produced."
The NYPD's panhandler crackdown reportedly began in November of last year, with 71 arrests taking place in a span of just two weeks. A police source told the Post, "There are more important things" to worry about than panhandlers. "People are getting thrown onto subway tracks, having their iPhones and iPads snatched. The last thing we’re worried about is a man begging for a nickel on the holidays," he told the tabloid.
The NYPD has not responded to requests for comment.
Tagged
beggars
nypd
panhandlers
subway
subway vendors
Rebecca Fishbein
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
Spoiler alert: It's still 26.2 miles.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Published Oct 14, 2026
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," says the co-owner of Art of Play.
By
Sonia Rao
Arts & Entertainment
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," says the co-owner of Art of Play.
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .