Midtown Lunch

A quick update on Eliana, the hot dog lady who had her cart seized by police last month when they kicked all the vendors off the NW corner of 43rd St. and 6th Ave. With the help of the Street Vendor Project, she got her cart back and returned to her regular spot last Monday. Sadly, on Tuesday a building manager from the Bank of American Tower (on 6th Ave. btw. 42+43rd) called and complained to the cops- who forced Eliana to move. She is now parked across 6th Ave., on the NE Corner of 43rd St., along with the other vendors who were forced to move (El Rey del Sabor and the halal cart), but is hoping at some point to return to the regular spot that she vended from with no issues for 15 years.

Related:
Street Vendor Project Going to Court Today to Fight For The 43rd St. Hot Dog Lady
BREAKING: Cops Seize Two Carts on 43rd… El Rey Del Sabor is Next

Where have I seen this before?

Fahima Halal, the cart run by Muhammad “Kwik Meal” Rahman’s brother, decided not to return to 45th and 6th today (after spending the weekend parked right next to his brother’s cart.)  Instead he went back to 42nd and 9th, and was greeted by two hot dog carts ready to give him the business.  Lunch’er “Joel” gives us the report:

After reading about Fahima this morning, I thought I’d give it a try, as I had to go to the bank on the corner of 42nd street and 9th anyway. Well, the Halal mafia seemed to have it out for the Fahima cart, as there were 2 hot dog carts blocking the Fahima cart, that was parked where it usually is(as well as another hot dog cart to the west, actually vending) I squeezed around behind the two carts and ordered lamb over rice platter, despite warning from a hot dog guy that Fahima was closed.

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Still worth it for $10? I say yes.

A few weeks ago I did a post detailing how, despite all the hype and PR, none of the new school vendors are really making any money. Need proof? Well, here it is. After an insane week that included winning the Rookie of the Year Vendy Award, followed by countless media appearances (including this one on CNBC), the Schnitzel & Things Truck has some very sad news to report. From the owner Oleg:

This is a letter to all of our loyal fans and customers. We are raising the prices of our schnitzel platters and sandwiches by $1. We understand how important our customers are to us, and feel that you deserve an explanation as to why this is necessary. Our main goal is to consistently provide the best quality product, and with the increased demand, we’ve had to incur some new expenses, such as a full commercial kitchen as well as new staff. Our menu is diverse and includes a wide variety of options, which are prepared fresh daily, and that requires a large amount of preparation, even down to the condiments we serve. Since we did hire new staff, it is our personal belief that they deserve a living wage, which in the restaurant business is rarely seen.

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Just got this email from Ali Issa, one of the organizers from the Street Vendor Project: “I thought I would inform you that Ms. Jaramillo, the hot dog vendor at 43rd and 6th, has gotten her cart back and will be returning to her spot today at noon (accompanied by one of our intern Josh, because she fears intimidation by building management.)” This could be the perfect day for a $1 hot dog…

Related:
BREAKING: Cops Seize Two Carts on 43rd… El Rey Del Sabor is Next
The Sad State of 43rd Street Between 6th and Broadway
Street Vendor Project Going to Court Today to Fight For The 43rd St. Hot Dog Lady

The New York Daily News is the latest media outlet to write about street vending as a legitimate money making opportunity, in an article in their money section yesterday.  They’re following in the footsteps of countless other publications who have written trend pieces about the explosion in street vending here in New York City (including the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times.)  It’s refreshing to see the Daily News mention some things that the mainstream media usually ignores (like how much of an impact the weather has on business, and how important private events are to these new crop of trucks) but they still left out an important warning to entrepreneurs looking to get into this business: for all the hype that most of these vendors have generated, none of them are making real money.

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Remember when the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck came to Midtown for one day last October? That didn’t last long. It took them almost a year to try again… but the result ended up being the same. I guess the Mister Softee trucks haven’t completely left for the season yet. *Sigh*  Just another day in Midtown…

Related:
Rule #1 of Vendor Fight Club is You Don’t Talk About Vendor Fight Club

Speaking of vendor issues, if you are a street food lover (or vendor) you should show your support by coming to the Astor Center this Sunday night at 6pm. Sean Basinski (from the Street Vendor Project) will be hosting a street vending panel featuring me, Ed Levine (from Serious Eats), and Kim Ima (from the Treats Truck). Get all the info here>>

Related:
Astor Center to Host Vendy Panel This Sunday

If you’ve ever wondered exactly what it is the Street Vendor Project does (besides throw the Vendy Awards every year) here’s a prime example of them in action. With one week to go before their biggest fund-raising event of the year, they are going to court this morning to fight for the hot dog lady on 43rd and 6th who had her cart seized by the police on Wednesday.  SVP founder Sean Basinski checks in to let us know exactly what’s going on… and to ask for a bit of help.

This morning we’re going to court with Eliana Jaramillo, the Bolivian woman who had her hot dog cart seized on Wednesday. We’re turning to your readers for help. Ms. Jaramillo got two tickets — one for vending from a sidewalk less than 12 feet wide, and one for having boxes or a cooler next to her cart (everything related to your vending business has to be stored in or under your pushcart.) The first ticket is completely bogus. We measured the sidewalk yesterday and it is more than 13 feet wide. So that should be easy to get tossed out.

But the other one is trickier.

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Such a sad sad sight on 43rd street yesterday afternoon, after two carts were carted off by the cops and the El Rey Del Sabor fled the scene. We haven’t been able to find out exactly why the carts were taken away, but if it was because of the “No Standing” sign on that block, then no vendor is safe.  Almost every single block of Midtown has one of those signs.

I do need to apologize, though, for a mix-up regarding the other two carts next to El Rey del Sabor.  I reported incorrectly that it was the lady from the $1 hot dog cart (closest to the corner of 43rd and 6th) that was shown in the El Rey del Sabor street fight video.  Lunch’er “Wendy” pointed out the error in an email (which you can read after the jump…)

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Photo of 43rd btw. 6+B’way Taken on Monday

Whoa… this just in courtesy of EJVallejo: “Looks like cops are confiscating one or both of carts involved in Vendor Fight on 43rd & 6th.” “All carts removed including hot dog lady. Cops said they were breaking zoning & ordinance laws.” Just spoke to Olivia from the El Rey del Sabor cart, and she confirmed that the cops came and started rounding up the carts on 43rd. The hot dog halal cart (run by the Greek lady from the video) and the halal cart $1 hot dog cart were both loaded onto a truck by police and taken away. They were planning on taking the El Rey del Sabor cart as well, but it wouldn’t fit on the truck- so they told her to move the cart by the time they came back, or they would seize her cart as well.

There’s no question that the building wants all the carts gone. After the “plantergate” episode, the building took matters into their own hands, installing a new group of planters. And yesterday, a representative from the building told El Rey del Sabor that they planned on planting a tree where their cart was currently parked (basically telling them they weren’t wanted.) Not sure if the building is responsible, but ERdS also said the cops came last week to say that the carts on the block were all parking illegally because of the “No Stopping” sign. The vendors argued that those signs don’t apply to carts, only trucks- but clearly that didn’t hold water. They were told today their carts were being seized because last week they were told to move, and they didn’t.

More on this as it comes in… but one thing is for sure- no Mexican food from the 43rd Street El Rey del Sabor cart today.

Related:
Vendor Fight Over 6th Ave. Spot Caught on Video
The Latest Weapon in the Vendor Wars is… Sidewalk Planters!?
“Plantergate” Continues As Building Reinstalls Planters on 43rd St.