Hindustan Times reported Wednesday that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani deleted a food-vending X post after activist Laura Loomer accused him of favoring halal vendors, amid separate city license plans.
Hindustan Times quoted Mamdani’s post as saying 1,800 mobile-food vending license applications were “in the mail this week.” The post opened with “Halalflation update” and ended with “Less red tape, more white sauce,” according to the outlet. The newspaper also reported that some social media users defended the changes, saying the licenses were not limited to halal carts.
The reported applications concern food vending, while New York City’s planned expansion of 10,500 General Vendor licenses covers a separate program. The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) says the additional licenses, for non-veteran applicants, are scheduled to become available Jan. 15, 2027. The New York City Council says general vending covers sales of nonfood goods or services.
City law allocates 7,875 of the additional licenses for use outside Manhattan and 2,625 for use in any borough. The city’s food-vending schedule calls for 2,200 supervisory-license applications annually for five years, beginning July 1, 2026. That allocation includes 1,500 for all boroughs except Manhattan, 500 citywide and 200 for people with disabilities and U.S. veterans; the schedule does not identify the reported 1,800 applications as part of the annual allotment.
The City Council said the General Vendor license cap had remained at 853 since 1979 and that more than 10,000 applicants were on the waitlist as of Jan. 29, 2026. It said the cap and waitlist contributed to an underground market where existing permit holders rented permits to new vendors for thousands of dollars per year. The wider reform package also expands training and inspections and increases civil penalties for some violations, the council said.
People on the 2016 General Vendor waitlist have priority for new licenses; the separate 2026 waitlist is scheduled to accept applications from Nov. 2 through Dec. 16. Applicants who received an offer letter must apply by Oct. 29 to be considered for licenses available in 2027.
