One of the articles above states that outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the top spot in the entire city for hot dog vendors. That 600,000+ NYC Parks Dept rent charge might be for 2 carts.
Or it could be for one of the vans parked on the sidewalk, and not a cart. As one FReeper above figured, it would mean selling 1000 dirty water dogs per day just to meet the rent fee, and thats before expenses for inventory and operational costs. A whole lot of dogs there per day ... gotta be for one of the vans
I always thought that the pushcart that used to sit (may still be there?) outside 11 Wall St. on New St. would be the top spot. Of course, the NYC Parks Dept. had no say at that location.