Anthony Bourdain Pledges Support To New York City Street Vendors

New York City streets are already filled with the sights and scents of street vendors and food trucks. From gourmet Korean tacos to the classic dirty water dogs, there's at least one vendor on every corner. But Anthony Bourdain, chef and TV personality, wants more. The host of No Reservations, who is often seen sampling street food in his shows, recorded a video for the Street Vendor Project in which he says, "There is nothing more vital to a city and a city's health than good street food and more of it."

Right now, there is a citywide cap on street vendors: 4,235 at one time. But that could soon change. New legislation called the Street Vending Modernization Act would add 600 more vendors to the bustling streets of New York by 2023, giving preference to people who have been on the waiting list for months or years, according to Gothamist.  

"It's time that New York stops ignoring its vibrant and growing street food industry," Sean Basinski, director of the Street Vendor Project, said in a statement. "For too long, food vendors have been exploited and stifled by an arbitrary and outdated permit cap. We applaud the internationally renowned chef and street food enthusiast, Anthony Bourdain for joining us in our call to lift the permit cap and allow for more permits that would legitimize thousands of vendors and create great new jobs."

You can see Bourdain's full statement in support of this legislation below: