What? Oh, btw, the law in NYC allows me to vend from the sidewalk without a permit. Do you know why?
You cannot a free soup kitchen just anywhere.
So far as I know you cannot vend in NY, DC and other major cities without a permit. Perhaps NY has some relaxation of provisions for Veterans. In DC about 5,000 lower income street vendors were pushed out of business by collusion of big business and government with a little graft thrown in for good measure.