The situation was complicated by the city's request for changes, including one to require that illegal vendors be fingerprinted.

The control of illegal vendors, particularly on 125th Street, has stymied city officials for years.

As the number of illegal vendors increased, so did the anger of business owners.

Ms. Nesfield said the police had cracked down on illegal vendors.

"Virtually all the vendors we're talking about here are illegal vendors," he said.

The police say they are only enforcing the law, often in response to complaints about illegal vendors clogging the streets.

"We don't think the solution to the problem of illegal vendors is to give out 2,000 more licenses," he said.

"The city is hurting the small business owners - who are taxpayers - by not keeping the illegal vendors off the street," he said.

He said such a balance was out of reach so long as illegal vendors were crowding in.

Their goal is to force the city to crack down on illegal vendors and more tightly regulate legal ones.