Midtown Lunch

Yesterday, as expected, the New York City council officially proposed the law that would revoke the permit of a food truck if it gets three parking tickets. As we explained on Tuesday, not only does this law unfairly punish food truck vendors- who represent a tiny percentage of the commercial trucks that park in this city- but it will effectively end vending from a food truck in this city (the food carts are not effected by the law.) Yesterday the Wall Street Journal blog interviewed Council Member Lappin (the sponsor of the proposed law) and she “disputed the notion that food trucks would be put out business by her proposal. ‘They have to abide by the rules, that’s the deal,’ she said. ‘They are supposed to be mobile.'”

Miss Lappin’s belief that this law will not put *all* food trucks out of business shows her lack of understanding of how street vending works in this town.

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Just a friendly reminder… today’s the day Eddie’s Pizza Truck is finally ready to serve pizza to the hungry masses! I have been highly anticipating this truck for the past few months, maybe it’s my Long Island pride coming through, so I couldn’t wait for the first day of lunch to try their pie. Instead I braved the cold, rain, and street puddles last night to stop by their opening party in Union Square.

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ESPN Zone might be closing in Times Square, but they’re apparently bringing Kogi to NYC at the end of the week!  On Friday morning, ESPN will be launching a “Match Truck” that will travel around New York City during the World Cup, playing games on a flatscreen TV while serving a breakfast and lunch menu that was designed by Roy Choi- chef of the famous L.A. based Kogi Trucks.  The menu, which Grub Street posted yesterday, isn’t typical Kogi stuff (there are foods representing a bunch of the participating World Cup nations) but some of the dishes clearly have a Kogi twist (like the sliders and carne asada burrito.)  These trucks are going to be appearing all over the country (including L.A.) so it’s doubtful that Roy himself will ever be on the truck… but it will hopefully still be good.

The truck launches Friday morning from 9 to 11am in Columbus Circle, and then you can follow it on Twitter (naturally) through the end of the World Cup.   (We’ve also added it to the Midtown Lunch Twitter Tracker for those of you who have twitter blocked by your work, or don’t want to sign up for an account.)  Last time Kogi came to NYC it was grass roots, and complete insanity. It’ll be interesting to see if this ESPN branded truck attracts the same interest…

Yesterday the news broke that two New York City Council members were preparing to introduce a law that would revoke the permits of any food truck that received 3 parking tickets within a 12 month period. We claimed that the law would effectively put every food truck out of business… and for anybody who thought that may have been hyperbole, it’s worth taking a look at the reactions of food trucks around the city. The twittering food trucks in particular have started to mobilize their fans in an effort to block this law. Oleg from the Schnitzel & Things truck sent this to me last night:

Schnitzel & things is devastated by the news that this councilwoman would introduce such an unfair bill. We as vendors are constantly being marginalized and this is just another attempt at further clamping down on the food truck industry. We bring a diversity and a sense of fun that the city should embrace rather than push us further and further away. If this bill passes, it will mean the end of food trucks in new York. It will mean countless families that depend on this business will now have to be out of a job.

More reactions from vendors are after the jump.

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The Trini-Paki Boys cart (on the SE corner of 43rd and 6th) is well known to Midtown Lunch’ers.  It’s mostly famous for their Pakistani version of chicken over rice, topped with Trinidadian pepper sauce- but Zach was pretty excited to discover that they also served biriyani, dahi bala, polourie, samosas, and most importantly doubles.

I discovered doubles in my college days through a Trinidadian ex-girlfriend. It’s been years since we’ve been on speaking terms, but doubles are still a fond memory. So a week or so ago I finally got a chance to check out the Trini Paki Boys cart for myself- and for once skipped the street meat in favor of a double.

After the jump, some doubles porn and a little background on the whole “Trini-Paki” thing.

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Since the first new school trucks started appearing in New York 3 years ago we’ve worked hard to shine a light on all the tough barriers to entry they face.  From cops to brick and mortar stores to other vendors, starting a food truck in this city is not easy. In addition to the finite number of permits (which are impossible to get without turning to the black market), current laws make it incredibly difficult to find a truly legal spot on the street, and inconsistent (and oftentimes incorrect) enforcement makes it hard for the vendors to know what is permissible and what isn’t. And yet, despite all of these issues, food trucks continue to operate and expand… and thankfully food trucks lovers (like us) haven’t seen the Government (or the police) take a hard line stance against these new trucks- that is, until now.

Tomorrow afternoon City Council members Jessica Lappin (from the UES) and Karen Koslowitz (from Queens) will introduce a new local law that will give the Department of Health authority to suspend any vending permit issued to a truck with two parking tickets (i.e. feeding the meter or idling) in a 12 month period, and revoke the permit of a truck that receives three parking tickets in a 12 month period.   The goal is to get trucks to not idle in parking spaces all day long- but the result will essentially be to put all food trucks out of business.

I spoke with Council Member Lappin earlier today to find out exactly what she hopes to accomplish by doing this…

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