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NYPRESS.COM • THE LARGEST PAPER ON THE EAST SIDE • OCTOBER 24, 2013
The Economics of the Street Fair Curious why they seem to be everywhere on the Upper East Side? Millions of dollars in city revenue may be an answer By Joanna Fantozzi
T
he scene is familiar to anyone on the Upper East Side: Over here you see a woman blending fruit to make smoothies. Over there is a guy selling what may or may not be designer sunglasses, and right next to him is the infamous “Zeppole! Fried Snickers! Italian Sausage!” truck, which smells like a combination of sweet fried dough and sizzling meat. It’s autumn in New York, which means street fairs are out in force. To understand why they seem so ubiquitous, despite recurrent complaints from residents and some local business people,
you have to understand this: street fairs are big business. The City of New York generates nearly $8 million from street fair permits – paid by the companies that produce them. (Three companies are behind more than half of all the street fairs in the city.) Given that there are expected to be 245 of the fairs by year’s end, that comes to $31,975.51 in revenue for the city -- per fair. Randi Horwitz, an Upper West Side resident who owns Social Eyes NYC, which offers a comprehensive list of street fairs, is a fan of the fairs. She said that this year, she has seen more small businesses at fairs than ever before. “There’s not too many mom and pop shops left around here, so fairs and festivals are the only chance small businesses have,” said Horwitz. For small businesses, the cost of setting up shop at a street fair is relatively small, between $150 and $375, depending on what you’re sell-
Ghost Tours & Pumpkins The Upper East Side is full of family-friendly local Halloween events this week By Helaina Hovitz Kids these days get more than one night to celebrate Halloween. We’ve compiled a list of all Continued on page 10
Nathan and Julianne, 2 year old twins
BUILDING WORKER AWARDS
Doorman of the Year - East Side Rudy Gonzalez
Doorman of the Year
Continued on page 4
ALSO INSIDE ARE WE IN FOR A NEW ERA IN POLITICS? P.8
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Upper East Side, meet your doorman of the year. Rudy Gonzalez, who has been the doorman at 1040 Park Avenue since 1996, is among the honorees in this year’s Building Service Workers awards, presented by 32BJ SEIU,the country’s largest property service workers union, and Straus Media Manhattan, the publisher of Our Town. To learn more about Rudy, and to see the complete list of this year’s winners, go to our special coverage, which begins after page 14.
RESTAURANT INSPECTION GRADES P.24
Photo by Mary Newman
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