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September 19, 2026
This Is TASTE 840: Mohamed Attia Sold Street Smoothies in Times Square. Now He Shapes Vending Policy.
Mohamed ARTICLE 2

Mohamed Attia spent nearly a decade running a food cart in Times Square before he became the person fighting for street vendors’ rights. As managing director of the ⁠Street Vendor Project⁠, Attia helped lead the campaign that, this past January, finally broke a New York City vending permit cap that had been frozen since 1979. He talks with Matt about his own path from vendor to advocate, and we go over so many great carts to visit in NYC.

The fifth annual Street Heroes gala takes place on Tuesday, October 6 at MoMA PS1. ⁠Get your tickets here⁠.

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Matt Rodbard

Matt Rodbard is the editor in chief of TASTE and the author of Koreaworld: A Cookbook, Koreatown: A Cookbook, a New York Times Bestseller, and Food IQ, a Publishers Weekly Bestseller and winner of a 2023 IACP Cookbook Award (Food Issues & Matters)