By Jamie Feldmar | Gothamist.com
Earlier this week, we heard the rumblings of some new legislation designed to curb the spread of mobile food vendors, who have already been facing down opponents in Midtown, the Upper West Side and Park Slope. Today, the Post reports that UWS Councilwoman Gale Brewer has indeed introduced a new bill, requiring the Department of Health to report the number of permits it issues each year to food trucks and carts, as part of a larger plan to regulate trucks overall. We spoke to Brewer to find out what exactly her beef with food trucks and carts is:
“It has become apparent that common-sense regulations are needed to strike a balance between the concerns of residents, and the right for these small businesses to operate,” Brewer said. “We receive many complaints from constituents about vendors, and take these complaints seriously. I am not anti-vendor, but I feel that it is in the best interest of all parties to work together and come up with effective solutions to everyone’s concerns.” She told the Post that trucks camp out in illegal parking spots in front of hydrants or feed meters all day, and called some of the trucks “noisy and filthy.”
Midtown Lunch co-founder Zach Brooks immediately called BS on the bill, saying “It doesn’t have anything to do with pollution and parking spaces. The reason they’re going after food trucks is because brick-and-mortar food businesses see food trucks as a threat.” Midtown Lunch has been featuring videos of NYC food vendors offering to feed Mayor Bloomberg as part of the Save the Food Trucks campaign that’s sprung up as a result of the citywide crackdown. Will he take them up? The Ribeye of the Tiger taco Korilla’s offering up is damn good.
http://gothamist.com/2011/10/18/food_truck_crackdown_levels_up_with.php
