The City licenses street vendors.
You must have a General Street Vendor License to sell or lease goods or services in a public space. This license is mainly for veterans. The number of licenses given to non-veterans is very limited.
You must have a General Street Vendor Distributor License to transport goods to a public space in order to sell them to a general street vendor.
A license is not required to sell newspapers, books, and similar items, but related City rules and regulations still apply.
http://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/service/2938/general-street-vendor-license
My son is a vet, but I don’t know that there is an unlimited number of licenses for vets.