Times Square and Herald Square vendors are cashing in on the car-free Broadway.
Everyone from food and souvenir hawkers to street performers said they were rolling in the dough yesterday thanks to the flood of pedestrians on the Great White Way.
“It is the coolest thing in the world. My business has quadrupled. It is like New Year’s Eve every day,” crowed the “Naked Cowboy,” Robert Burck.
Kamel Abdelbkai, 33, a hot-dog vendor on 33rd Street, said the franks are flying off his cart at a record pace.
“People love it. More people are buying hot dogs, and I’m looking forward to the summer when even more people are down here,” he said.
More vendors are expected to flood into the area, but existing Midtown merchants with lucrative spots on the two coveted stretches of Broadway say newcomers need to honor an unwritten code of conduct if they want to come over.
“I’m not worried someone will come down and steal my spot, because we are part of a gentlemen’s agreement. It is a matter of respect from one vendor to another,” said Oussunou Naisse, a pretzel pusher on 43rd Street.
The one gripe among the street salesmen is that they are legally confined to the sidewalks despite vast swaths of empty asphalt.
But, street dining could still become a reality.
The Department of Transportation, which is running the project, may allow restaurants to operate sidewalk café service next year.
“We are looking to establish public-private partnerships with [business improvement districts] and other non-profits to manage the spaces and establish sub-concessions,” said spokesman Scott Gastel.