Mohammad Mastafa, who operates a hot dog cart on Fifth Avenue near 62nd Street, pays the parks department $289,500 to operate his stand every year. The Times reports that this spot drew the highest bid of the 150 pushcart sites throughout the city, but four other vendors that work around Central Park also pay more than $200,000 per year. These concessions produce about $4.5 million for the city, annually.
The fees are much lower in other parts of the city — some vendors in Astoria Park pay $14,000, while a vendor in Inwood Hill Park pays just $700 a year. Although many of the vendors that the Times interviewed chose not to disclose information about how much money they make, one vendor who works on Central Park West said that he gets about $2,000 on a warm summer day, and about $200 during the winter. Those $3 bottles of Poland Spring water make up the majority of his sales. The Times put together a handy map that shows which vendors pay the most around Central Park.
· The Six-Figure Price Tag for Selling a $2 Hot Dog [NYT]
· All Coverage of Food Vendors [~ENY~]
[Photo: Foursquare]