http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/shut_the_truck_up_1e6QWhDdaAOJ1qwZdK20NO

She’s pretty high up in the ranks so she constantly has to make tough decisions. This is likely not one of her priorities. To get your foot in the door, you should try to flirt with her ego a bit. :)

Also, there was mention of a Business Improvement District. I live right by a BID and people comment all the time about having to pay extra fees/taxes that fund the district’s improvements. Having extra competition come by whenever they feel like it does feel invasive because they haven’t paid their dues [so to speak]. To a business owner, it’s like these trucks are piggybacking on your investments (time & money).

We should try to sympathize with them as that is really the only way to get them to reciprocate understanding your frustration. The council could finally be listening but it’s the people who barked in the first place that you need to reach. And they just happen to be your biggest competitors.

1&2) So enact harsher littering penalties. When was the last time someone got a ticket for littering?
3) No sympathy here. I work in Rockefeller center. What if some trendy new clothing shop or restaurant or whatever opened up. Should the pedestrian traffic mean the store should go out of business?
4) Trucks are *not* parked day and night. *SOME* trucks may be, but they’re the minority. Furthermore, if the truck is following the law, what difference is it if it’s a truck or someone’s SUV that they use once a week or month and is otherwise always parked?
5) Business A who works smarter at attracting customers will always take away from Business B. Also, trucks may not pay rent, but they pay kitchen fees (which must be DOH sanctioned kitchens) and garage fees (which must also be DOH sanctioned), which combined are a significant enough of their operating expenses to be equivalent to “rent”.

Is this “Lex and 86th” location the same location that was discussed in today’s hearing? I’m curious how bad it actually is over there…

Its called free market. Why should you ban or limit vendors just for some crappy deli owners? Maybe we should ban crappy food blogs cause you are taking business away from the real media that have to hire writers and staff. If these restaurants sold a product people want, it wouldn’t matter what the food truck owners sell. Instead they all sell the same generic Pax/Cafe Metro/Food Exchange generic crap that no one wants.

Believe me, if the food trucks stopped showing up near my office, it wouldn’t drive to get the Cuban panini offered from five different delis in a 1/2 block radius from my office, nor would it be a choice between a sit down restaurant and an ice cream from miss softee.

And how many NY’ers really are concerned about finding a quick parking spot to run into a store to pick something up. This city isn’t a strip mall in NJ.

Dear Ms. Quinn,

Since I came to New York to study at NYU, I have loved this city. Now that I work and live here (as a financial professional), I love it even more, if that is possible. I never want to leave and always espouse good things about the city. When my friends ask me if I’ll ever leave, I joke that you’ll be able to see my trail by following the finger-scratched marks on the sidewalks as they dragged me away.

I am writing to you today regarding Council Member Lappin’s bill regarding the food trucks. I think it s a grossly unfair bill and rather than pass it as is, the City Council should open a TWO-way dialogue with the vendors to make compromises on both sides.

The main issue is that with such varied parking laws, some of them archaic, the NYPD doesn’t know which ones to enforce, how to enforce them or even if what they’re doing is correct. If the people who uphold our laws are confused, then how can the rest of us follow them? Many trucks, while trying to follow the laws, get an average of 3 tickets a month, let alone a year. Council Member Lappin claims that she is in favor of small businesses and that this new bill will not put them out of business, however, we all know this is not true. By taking away permits, you are taking away the livelihoods of a select few to punish a minority caught fragrantly violating established laws.

However, it can be argued that this bill goes beyond that and veers into discrimination. Many of the violations that Council Member Lappin cites are committed on a daily basis and more grossly by such vendors as FedEx, UPS, Fresh Direct and others. After the BP disaster are we still willing to let corporations bypass laws that the rest of us have to follow just because they bring in more revenue? And as long as we’re talking about delivery trucks, what of the normal commuter coming into the city to work? Should not their driver licenses (and thereby their livelihood) be at stake as well? They violate the same laws on the same frequency as food trucks do.

Please understand that all food trucks make up a small percentage of the overall city’s traffic and hence, make up a small percentage of its traffic violations. Yet this bill is only focusing on them due to a small number of complaints from Council Member Lappin’s district. It is clear that the general populace of our fair city is against this. One street truck vendor (Schnitzel and Things, I believe) got 5,000 people to sign a petition within a week. Members of Council Member Lappin’s district are also against this bill. Mayor Bloomberg just recently submitted opposition to the bill. In fact, the only people who have come forth in support of this bill are business owners who feel threatened by competition. Do we really want to pass a law that restricts competition?

I have rambled on long enough and won’t waste anymore of your time. If you have read this far Council Member Quinn, I would like to thank you for your time. Of the past few years that I have been following local news, and I would like to say that your own personal story has been very inspirational. I wanted to say that generally and don’t want to make it seem like I’m trying to influence you with flattery, haha, I truly mean what I said.

I’d like to end this letter with this: Every guest I have ever had visit me in NYC has always asked to go the famous Halal Chicken and Rice cart on 53rd and 6th, undoubtedly one of the most famous street food locations in all of NYC. I have used that as a springboard and taken them to many other food trucks over the city. Please ask yourself this, is it worth losing something that is actually an attraction to our city?

Thank you again for your time.

That said, there has to be a reasonable way to compromise. I don’t think harassment with parking tickets is the way. Maybe better permitting or an area for the trucks to set up shop, but not taking every metered spot on a block all day where pedestrian traffic is already congested.