Dozens of vendors still swarm Brooklyn Bridge in free-for-all — selling illegal cocktails, pics with live snake: photos
Here’s a bird’s-eye view of the daily bedlam that erupts on the Brooklyn Bridge.
The Post last week hovered 1,500 feet above the span in a helicopter to catalog the chaos on the 1.14-mile-long historic landmark.
The photographer captured images of a shocking free-for-all, with at least 26 peddlers hawking miniature Statues of Liberty, pot-leaf caps, and stuffed llamas — and some selling illegal cocktails or selfies with a live snake.
And that was just on the Manhattan side.
“It’s like a football field of vendors,” said Lower East Sider Katie Raffa, 33. “Someday, this is going to cause a stampede. I think it’s very dangerous and very concerning.”
The rising black-market pandemonium has exploded on the bridge since the city moved cyclists to a protected lane on the roadway two years ago.
Illegal vendors — and few legal ones — quickly filled the void and today grab any free spot they can commandeer, setting up umbrellas, tables filled with all manner of tchotchkes, galleries of paintings, and 360-degree photo booths for tourists that blast “Empire State of Mind.”
On a recent afternoon, cocktail vendors quietly advertised their illicit drinks by displaying a metal bin filled with margarita ingredients, including bottles of Jose Cuervo silver and gold tequila, Jose Cuervo margarita mix, lemon juice, and salt.
For $15, a bartender dumped the silver tequila and other ingredients into a miniature metal cocktail shaker with ice, which she then poured into 10-ounce plastic cups.
“You got to evolve, you got to ride the wave,” one of the margarita vendors said.
The State Liquor Authority said it had not approved any alcohol sales on the Brooklyn Bridge, and the vendors hid their hooch when a Sanitation Department worker passed by.
“The laws don’t apply for me,” the vendor crowed.
Legal vendors are infuriated by the illegal competitors.
Jose Loor, 56, last year got a disabled veteran license to peddle T-shirts and hoodies emblazoned with Big Apple designs on the bridge.
“The more space you create, the more people are going to come. That’s just the facts,” he said. “It’s congested and difficult because you’re fighting with immigrants out here.”
Licensed vendor Bernardo Hidalgo, 66, who hawks US president bobbleheads in addition to the usual NYC-themed pens and magnets, ripped the rogue newcomers for mistreating tourists — and eating at least 20% of his sales.
“They’re selling the same item for a different price, maybe lower than what you paid,” Hidalgo cried. “It’s bad for vendors, for people that invest . . . at the end of the night.”
Designed by John Roebling and completed in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was an engineering marvel that offered New Yorkers a chance to breathe fresh air and gaze upon the harbor with its unique pedestrian promenade, according to Jeff Richman, author of “Building the Brooklyn Bridge: An Illustrated History.”
“The Brooklyn Bridge is a New York City icon and landmark. It should be appreciated for what it is,” Richman told The Post. “Vendors up and down the bridge distract from that vision, from the very purpose of walking across it.”
The Sanitation Department recently cracked down on illegal vending across the city beginning in April and has issued 137 summonses along the span since.
The Sanitation patrol, however, has provided little deterrence.
The vendors “come back a half hour later,” one Sanitation worker said.
With little law enforcement going on, tourists can now pose for photos with the skyline in the background — or a snake around their arms.
“Ten dollars and you can take as many photos as you like,” said Jersey City resident Jewell Beasley, 25, owner of a jungle boa named Pumpkin who operates on the Brooklyn side. “She’s very friendly.”
Some vendors, however, are hostile as they fight for space.
“Get a small table and try to set it up, you’ll see how people will [literally] push you away,” said Loor. “I’m not used to the street — I’m used to law and order.”
Mona Bruno, a spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation, which in May proposed a rule banning all vending on the city’s bridges, said the agency is working to address issues with hawkers and maintain pedestrian flow.
“We look forward to considering any public comments once the proposed rule draft is complete and published in the City Record,” she said.
The agency expects the ban will be implemented in the coming fiscal year.
