Newsstand (024)

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. This description is only a general explanation of which businesses need to have a Newsstand license.

Note: New York City businesses must comply with all relevant federal, state, and City laws and rules. All laws and rules of the City of New York, including the Consumer Protection Law and Rules, are accessible using the Public Access Portal. For convenience, sections of the New York City Licensing Law (and Rules, if enacted) are available as a downloadable handout. The Law (and Rules) are current as of January 2009.

Please note that businesses are responsible for knowing and complying with the most current laws, including any City Council amendments. The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is not responsible for errors or omissions in the handout. The information is not legal advice. You can only obtain legal advice from a lawyer.

All requirements 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. Current licensees with one newsstand license may in no instance have more than three pending applications at any given time. New applicants may in no instance have more than two pending applications at any given time. Refer to the Rules of the City of New York §2-64(a)(1).

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 Design 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.
   
  
• Design Commission Approval/Disapproval. The Design Commission reviews the proposed newsstand’s aesthetic appropriateness and visual compatibility with the surrounding area.
   
  
• 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 Design Commission.
   
  
• Stand Construction. If the proposed newsstand is approved by the Design Commission (or the Landmarks Preservation Commission, if applicable), the Commission will send its approval to DCA. DCA will notify both the applicant and DOT about the Commission’s approval. DOT will contact the applicant to confirm the cost of constructing the newsstand and to provide the contact person at Cemusa with whom to arrange payment. Cemusa is the City’s vendor. Once Cemusa provides DCA and DOT with satisfactory proof of payment for construction costs, DOT will coordinate construction of the applicant’s newsstand with Cemusa.
   
  The cost of a Cemusa newsstand in 2008 is $27,733; the cost will increase each year based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). For the most up-to-date cost information, please call 311 and asked to be transferred to DCA with a question about the newsstand license.

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.

• 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.

• 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: You can complete the Basic License Application online using a fillable PDF file, then print a bar-coded form for scanning into our system once you arrive at the Licensing Center. Learn more

Note: If this application will be filed by someone other than an owner, partner or corporate officer, the person filing the application must submit an original, notarized Affidavit Granting Authority to Act (download).

• 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 the 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. The site plans should be no larger than 11” x 17”.
   
  
• 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.
  

Items to be submitted to the Design Commission:

Preliminary and Final Review

1. Duplicate set of application forms signed by the appropriate agency head or designated agency representative, including the name and address of the private entity proposing the newsstand. The application form should indicate the address of the building in front of which the newsstand will be installed.
   
2. A minimum of eight (8) loose 8” x 10" color photographs of the site and surrounding area for the proposed newsstand taken during daylight hours. These photographs must show the general streetscape as well as views from across the street indicating the facades of the buildings in front of the proposed newsstand site.
   All photos must be clearly labeled on the back. Polaroids or color photocopies will not be accepted. If using a digital camera, photographs must be printed on photo-quality paper.
   
3. A photomontage showing the proposed newsstand in the context of the existing site. See Note about Drawings below.
   
4. A location plan (minimum scale: neighborhood and borough), indicating where the newsstand is within the surrounding neighborhood and within the borough. See Note about Drawings below.
   
5. A detailed site plan (minimum scale: 1" = 40'), showing the location and nature of adjacent buildings, including details of setback from major entrances, dimensions, and street furniture. (See Note about Drawings below. ) The plan is to show both sides of the street, one block in each direction from the proposed site.
   

Final Approval is conditioned upon commencement of work within two years of the final approval date and the submission of three (3) 8" x 10" color archival quality photographs of the completed project for the Design Commission's archive of the City's built environment.

Requirements after Design 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 11217 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 five (5) 8” x 10” black-and-white photographs (one photo of each side) of the completed structure. DCA will send the photographs to the Design 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 feet in height. This does not include newsstands in close proximity to subway entrances and exits for which special size limitations apply.

For the construction of new Cemusa newsstands there are nine (9) stand sizes available, including widths of 4, 5, and 6 feet and lengths of 8, 10, and 12 feet. You may apply for the largest stand which fits into your proposed site and complies with all applicable site criteria.

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 §2-65.)

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.