Newsstand (024)

License Application Checklist

DCA Licensing Center
42 Broadway, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10004
For more information, call 311.

By City law, newsstands are stands or booths that are not readily removable, located on the public sidewalk, operating primarily for the sale of newspapers and periodicals. Note: Licensees are required to comply with all relevant laws and rules, including the Consumer Protection Law. The requirements listed below are only a summary and should not be used as a substitute for the actual law and rules regarding newsstands. This summary is not binding on DCA. To get a copy of the actual law, call 311 or come in person to the DCA Licensing Center at the address above. For more detailed information on Department of Transportation (DOT) and Art Commission requirements, refer to the Rules of the City of New York, §2-67, §2-68, and §2-69.

All required documents summed up below must be submitted when filing your application. Applications must be filed in person at the DCA Licensing Center, 42 Broadway, 5th floor, in Manhattan between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and on Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. To speed processing, please submit documents in the order listed below.

No licensee may operate more than two newsstands at any given time. If you already possess two newsstand licenses, you may not apply for another. If you already possess one license, you may be granted only one additional license. Current licensees may in no instance have more than three pending applications at any given time. New applicants may in no instance have more than four pending applications.

Overview of Newsstand Approval Process:

• Community Board Recommendation of Approval/Disapproval. The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) will send a copy of your application to the appropriate Community Board, which will forward its recommendation to DCA within 60 calendar days. DCA will then forward the recommendation to DOT, and subsequently to the Art Commission if DOT approval is obtained.
  
  
• Department of Transportation Approval/Disapproval. DCA will send a copy of your site plans, photographs and a copy of the building owner notification to DOT. (Incomplete, inaccurate or illegible site plans and/or drawings will be rejected.) DOT will review the proposed stand location for compliance with public safety regulations.
  
  
• Art Commission Approval/Disapproval. The Art Commission reviews the proposed newsstand's aesthetic appropriateness and visual compatibility with the surrounding area. Art Commission review is based on submitted site plans, architectural scale drawings, photos and sample material.
  
  
• Landmarks Preservation Commission Approval/Disapproval. If the proposed newsstand site is located in an area under the Landmarks Preservation Commission's jurisdiction, the applicant will be required to apply directly to, and get approval from, the Landmarks Preservation Commission rather than the Art Commission.
  
  
• Stand Construction. If the proposed newsstand is approved by DOT and the Art Commission (or the Landmarks Preservation Commission, if applicable), DCA will send you a letter giving you permission to erect a newsstand. Construction of the newsstand must be completed within 150 calendar days of this letter. DCA will inspect your newsstand to verify that it has been constructed in conformance with approved site plans and drawings.

ITEMS TO BE SUBMITTED AT THE TIME OF INITIAL APPLICATION:

• Proof of notification of building owner. Within 30 days before the application is filed, the applicant is required to provide the owner on record, or owner's agent of the building or lot directly adjacent to the site of the proposed newsstand, with notice that a newsstand application will be submitted within 30 days to the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Such notice must be made by Certified Mail. The notice shall specify the dimensions of the proposed stand and the distance and direction it will be located from the closest intersection. Proof (certified mail receipt with an affidavit) that such notice was given must be submitted at the time the completed application is submitted to DCA. Building owner information can be obtained by visiting the Office of the City Register in the borough where the proposed newsstand is to be erected.

City Register Borough Offices:

Manhattan: 66 John Street, 13th Floor
Bronx: 1932 Arthur Avenue, Room 201
Brooklyn: Municipal Building, 210 Joralemon Street, Room 2
Queens: 144-06 94th Avenue, Jamaica
Staten Island: County Court House, 18 Richmond Terrace, Room 103

Each Office of the City Register has a copy of the Real Estate Directory for that particular borough. To obtain owner information, look up the address of the building. You will find the name, address and telephone number of the building owner listed next to the address.

• License Fee must be paid by check or money order, payable to NYC Department of Consumer Affairs. The license fee for two years is $1,076.00. You will be required to pay a processing fee of $269.00 when the application is filed. If the application is approved, DCA will notify the licensee, and the balance remaining for the present license term must be paid for the license documents to be issued (a maximum of $807.00).
  
  
• Basic License Application (download).

*ATTENTION NEW LICENSE APPLICANT: Learn how to fill out DCA's new online application form.

• Photo ID of the person submitting the application. Acceptable identification includes:
  - a driver's license or a non-driver's ID issued by a State Department of Motor Vehicles
  - a passport
  - an alien card/green card
  - a license or permit issued by a government agency
  - if applicant is a city, state or federal employee, an employee identification card
  

Note: If this application will be filed by someone other than the person to be licensed, an original notarized Affidavit Granting Authority to Act (download) must be submitted together with one of the above acceptable forms of ID.

• Affidavit of Principal Employment (download). The law requires that the newsstand be the licensee's principal employment.
  
  
• One passport-size photograph of individual filing for license.
  
  
• Six copies of Site Plans (1/4" = 1' scale). The site plans must indicate the dimensions of the proposed newsstand and the distance from each listed obstruction (streets, sidewalks, sidewalk furniture, property lines, crosswalks, buildings and building entrances, subway entrances, grates, hydrants, traffic control devices, light poles, sign posts, public phones, garbage receptacles, mailboxes, parking meters, manhole covers, trees, etc.) within 25' of either side of the proposed newsstand location. Site plans do not have to be drawn by an architect; you may draw them yourself, provided that the plans are accurate and drawn to scale.
  
  
• Eight (5" x 7") color photographs of proposed location (two of each side, two of front, two of back and two frontal shots taken from across the street). All photographs should clearly show the area surrounding the proposed newsstand location. The location of the stand must be identified with an X on all photographs submitted. NOTE: POLAROID PHOTOGRAPHS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
  
  
• For stands within three feet of private property only: An affidavit from the adjacent property owner granting permission for the newsstand to be located within three feet of their property.

Items to be submitted to the Art Commission (only after approval from the Department of Transportation):

• Six copies of architectural scale drawings of the proposed newsstand showing all elevations and details drawn to a scale of 1" = 1'. (See the 2-67 of the Rules of the City of New York for details.) Site plans and architectural scale drawings must be legible, completely accurate and extremely detailed. Illegible, incomplete or inaccurate site plans and/or drawings will result in the denial of your application.
  
  
• Samples: A sample of material to be used for the exterior of the newsstand must be provided.
  
  
• Eight (5" x 7") color photographs of proposed location. The location of the stand must be identified with an X on all photographs submitted.
  

Requirements after Art Commission Approval:

• Sales Tax Identification Number. This is the 9-digit number on your New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Certificate of Authority. You must enter this number on the Basic License Application form. Applications for a Sales Tax Identification Number are available at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance office at 55 Hanson Place, Brooklyn, NY or call (800) 462-8100. In addition to the tax form, you can ask for Publication 750 (A Guide to Sales Tax in New York State). Allow four to six weeks after applying to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to receive your Certificate of Authority.
  
  
• Once construction of the newsstand has been completed, you must send written notification along with six 8" x 10" black-and-white photographs (one photo of each side) of the completed structure. DCA will send the photographs to the Art Commission for its final approval.
  

Newsstand Size and Clearance Requirements:

The law requires that a newsstand occupy no more than 72 square feet and not exceed 9' in height. This does not include newsstands in close proximity to subway entrances and exits for which special size limitations apply.

The following is a summary of the required minimum clearances from sidewalk obstructions, as inspected by the Department of Transportation, to use when drawing Site Plans. (For complete details, see the Rules of the City of New York §2-68.)

Subway Entrances/Exits	20'		Information Kiosks	15'
Sidewalk Cafes	20'		Newsstands	15'
Bus Shelters	20'		Fire Hydrants	15'
Standpipes	15'		Siamese Connections	15'
Curb Cuts	15'		Curbs	1'6"
Street Lights	3'		Building Vaults	2'
Traffic Signal Poles	3'		Transformer Vaults	2'
Ventilation or Other Grills	2'		Street Signs	2'
Cellar Doors	2'		Parking Meters	2'
Manholes	2'		Telephones	2'
Access Plates	2'		Litter Baskets/Mailboxes	2'
Entrances to Houses of Worship	15'
Governmental Buildings	15'
Elevator Lobby of a Building	15'
Service or Freight Entrances	10'
All Other Retail Entrances and Building Entrances	5'
Property lines extended at intersection of two streets	10'
The trunk of any tree (in any direction) or canopy	5'

Newsstands may not be placed under fire escapes, in taxi stands, or bus stops, and may not be placed within the frontage of any building having more than three floors of retail use.

Newsstands may not be located in areas where they interfere with the free passage of pedestrians. DOT will measure sidewalk congestion (or pedestrian level of service) to determine if a proposed location meets public safety standards.