Food Trucks Have Been Forced Out of 46th Street

The block of 46th Street between 6th and 5th Avenue has been overpopulated with food trucks for the last few years.  Since it’s near plenty of office buildings and there are very few restaurant options nearby, it’s one of a few hugely popular Midtown streets for the trucks to congregate. But as two tipsters have informed us, the trucks have recently vanished.

I spoke to some of the truck owners and it sounds like the police have cracked down on this spot over the last few weeks. One day all the trucks were made to close, on another day a few vendors got huge tickets, and now it looks like the spot is officially closed to trucks. For now at least.

This is not the first time trucks have been forced off this street and the same thing happened in 2013 around the same time when 47th Street and Park was shut down. Trucks have a very difficult time finding a legal spot to park since they are not allowed to sell food from a parking meter. But on the other hand, they have a permit from the Department of Health to legally vend food from the streets. So they find themselves stuck in the middle.

It also gets difficult when the trucks travel in packs. While it might be good for business to make themselves visible, it also draws unwanted attention. Once a street becomes too crowded the police will inevitably shut them down. So until new, more fair laws are passed, it only makes sense for the trucks to spread out a bit.

Until things simmer down on this street, we do still have the carts. It might be the prefect time to revisit Kim’s Aunt Kitchen and Moshe’s Falafel.

4 Comments

  • This is due to prep work for the pope visit next week … you’ll also notice lovely white cement barriers around midtown

    Expect to see more truck crackdowns, random street closures, and adolescent boys becoming increasingly nervous

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    I agree that it is probably related to the Pope’s visit.

    On 47th and Park yesterday, I saw New York’s finest dishing out what looked like parking tickets to the trucks.

    While general homelessness and smoking pot on the street is no longer a concern, I guess the war against food trucks is still important to this administration.

  • Diso’s and Urban Lobster were both there today. They seemed okay. Not sure if they just got lucky or what not.

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