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Vendors sell Hornblower cruise tickets on Whitehall Street across from the Staten Island Ferry terminal in Manhattan.

(Staten Island Advance/Anna Sanders)

CITY HALL -- Aggressive tour ticket vendors who pester Staten Island Ferry commuters must get a city license under a law passed by the Council on Tuesday.

Sellers would have to wear a vest or jacket with their license information. The measure is intended to help the city regulate vendors who scam tourists and harass New Yorkers.

"They will have the ability to complain about them specifically," bill sponsor Councilman Dan Garodnick (D-Manhattan) said at City Hall.

The Department of Consumer Affairs would issue the $45 licenses to anyone selling tickets for events, tours, transportation or other amenities in public spaces.

Such vendors have long frequented Times Square, but their presence near Whitehall Terminal increased notably after Hurricane Sandy.

Storm damage forced the temporary closure of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, so ticket sellers could offer tourists similar or replacement entertainment. Years after Liberty Island reopened, the hawkers use combative and often deceptive tactics to sell tickets to harbor cruises and other amenities.

The vendors have gotten into fights, assaulted one tourist and tricked others into buying tickets to the free Staten Island Ferry. The NYPD established a dedicated unit at Battery Park after a tourist was punched there in February.

The state currently licenses resellers that purchase tickets in bulk. But holders of those licenses can employ an unlimited number of vendors who aren't required to wear credentials when hawking on the street.

The law passed by the Council establishes a presumption that businesses working with individual sellers are responsible for violations. The city could revoke licenses of any aggressive sellers or those committing fraud.

Fines would range from $25 to $1,000 depending on the violation.

Garodnick did acknowledge that resellers near the ferry terminal already ignore current regulations in place. Tickets can't be sold within the terminal or outside on the plaza controlled by the Parks Department.

"You obviously need enforcement to correspond with any new rules," he said.

The law would also require the city to study the impact of ticket sellers on pedestrian traffic and safety. The city would spend about $65,000 on the study but there's no other costs associated with the measure.

Staten Island's three-member Council delegation voted in favor of the measure. Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign the bill into law next week.