Thank you to everyone who attended this year’s NYC Vendy Awards and took part in our Trivia Contest! If you would like to see how much you know about street vending in New York City, past and present, click on the image below to take the quiz. If you just want to skip to the answers, you can find them below.
Vendy Trivia Contest – Answer Key
1. How many mobile food vending permits are there in New York City, including city-wide, borough-specific, seasonal, and Green Carts?
A: 875
B: 5,100 • There are 2,800 city-wide, year-round permits, 50 permits for each of the four “outer” boroughs, 100 permits for war veterans, 1,000 seasonal (Apr-Oct) permits, and 1,000 Green Cart permits.
C: 1,000
D: 11,500
2. What is The Cinnamon Snail named after?
A: The pace of traffic through the Lincoln Tunnel
B: A poem written by owner Adam Sobel
C: A pet snail from owner Adam Sobel’s childhood
D: Their puffy vegan cinnamon buns
3. What is the nickname for the Luke’s Lobster truck?
A: The Nauti-mobile
B: Crustacean Station
C: Pinchy the Truck
D: Lobster Roller
4. What predominantly Irish neighborhood in the Bronx does The Chipper Truck call home?
A: Woodlawn • You can find them on Katonah Ave and 237th St, seven days a week, 12am-5am most nights.
B: Riverdale
C: Norwood
D: Soundview
5. The Astoria-based brothers who own King Souvlaki have been serving food on what easy-to-remember corner for the last 20 years?
A: 31st Avenue and 31st Street
B: 1st Street and 1st Avenue
C: 53rd Street and 3rd Avenue
D: 24th Street and 24th Avenue
6. What is Marcos and Janet Lainez’s El Olomega food truck named for?
A: The Lainez family’s hometown in El Salvador
B: The Lainez family’s nickname for their secret pupusa recipe
C. Salvadoran term that means home-cooked meal
D: The Lainez family’s nickname for a secret ingredient
7. What Ecuadorian dessert is Cholita Cuencana owner Maria Crespo’s specialty?
A: Espumilla • You can find them at the corner of Junction Blvd & Roosevelt Ave in Queens.
B: Humita
C: Tembleque
D: Creme de papaya
8. What make and model is Popitbaby’s unique vintage truck?
A: 1944 30-horsepower Ford Van Ette
B: 1964 Citroën H Van
C: 1972 U.S. Postal Service mail truck
D: 1955 Merchandiser body mobile canteen
9. What powers components of the Neapolitan Express?
A: Collapsible wind turbines that can be
B: Compressed natural gas and solar panels affixed to the roof • Read more about the eco-friendly truck here.
C: Hydropower from the truck’s water tanks
D: A flux capacitor
10. Which of the following happened this year as a direct result of the Street Vendor Project’s efforts?
A: The New York City Council voted 44-3 to lower the maximum vendor fine for minor offenses to $500
B: Vendor Power!, a 501(c)(4) established by SVP members, endorsed vendor-friendly city council candidates
C: All of the above • Read about the City Council vote here and the 501(c)(4) here.
D: None of the above
11. What food cart won the first Vendy Cup when the awards debuted in 2005?
A: Kwik Meal
B: Hallo Berlin
D: Biryani Cart
12. Which of the following New York businesses did NOT start out as street vendors?
A: D’Agostino
B: Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs
C: Bloomingdale’s
D: Macy’s • Brothers Nick and Patsy D’Agostino started as pushcart peddlers in the 1920’s; Nathan’s Famous started as a sidewalk stand near its current world-famous Coney Island location in 1916; Benjamin Bloomingdale sold hoop skirts from a pushcart before his sons Joseph and Lyman began selling them from their store.
13. What are the pseudonyms for the authors of the book New York A la Cart (available for purchase here at the Vendys)?
A: Sugar and Spice
B: Brownie and Cookie
C: Salty and Spicy
D: Blondie and Brownie • Be sure to pick up their book, New York a la Cart.
14. What does the word Arabic word toum mean?
A: Stomach
B: Yum
C: Garlic sauce
D: Warm pita bread
15. How many open-air pushcart markets were there on the streets of New York in 1930?
A: 212
B: 89
C: 58 • From the New York Times in 1930: “There are fifty-eight such markets in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, with 6,500 peddlers doing a business involving the sale of $50,000,000 worth of foods annually to 1,500,000 persons.”
D: 22
16. Which of the following requires a permit to be sold on the streets of New York City?
A: Printed publications
B: Evergreen trees at Christmastime
C: Palm, myrtle and willow branches, and citron during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot
D: Potato pancakes during Hanukkah • Any prepared food sold on the street requires a permit, but the sale of printed materials and artistic works does not. Also, the sale of evergreen trees and other plants for religious holidays does not require a permit, but does require the consent of the adjacent property owner and can only be done during certain months of the year.
17. Which is Brooklyn’s only remaining public market?
B: Brownsville Market
C: Moore Street Retail Market • Visit the Moore Street Market and meet the vendors on our Immigrant Foodways Tour.
18. Which of the following activities have grown out of the work of the Street Vendor Project?
A: Provide vendors with small business training and loans
B: Teach vendors about their legal rights and responsibilities
C: File lawsuits and challenge tickets that are improperly issued to vendors
D: Host the Vendy Awards in five different cities
E: Issue educational materials in multiple languages
F: Raise public awareness about the challenges faced by street vendors
G: All of the above • Get involved with the Street Vendor Project by volunteering or donating.