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Politician Calls Cops on Kids Selling Cupcakes
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 15, 2010
Modified Nov 15, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 15, 2010
Modified Nov 15, 2010
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Andrew DeMarchis and Kevin Graff, two 13-year-olds from Chappaqua, have a dream of opening up a restaurant. To raise seed money, they decided to spend the next few years selling baked goods and other foodstuffs in a local park. Well, that sort of thing may fly over in Rockland County, but not on local Councilman Michael Wolfensohn's turf. After spotting the two scofflaws vending in a New Castle park, he called the cops to shut the boys down for vending without a license. Naturally, Andrew and Kevin's parents want Wolfensohn's head on a stick.
"The police officer was extremely pleasant. He said he was sorry to have to do this, but that he was following up on a report filed over the phone by a Town Board member," Suzanne DeMarchis, Andrew's mother, tells The Journal News. "Kevin was so upset, he was crying all the whole way home. He was worried if he was going to get arrested or have a criminal record." Kevin's mom Laura adds, "I am shocked and sad for the boys. It was such a great idea, and they worked hard at it. But then some Town Board member decided to get on his high horse and wreck their dreams." Fast forward ten years, and we'll probably find little Kevin staring hollow-eyed from behind the counter at Dunkin' Donuts, his best years long behind him.
But Kevin and Andrew were bound to come up against the harsh reality of local bureaucracy sooner or later, and Wolfensohn remains unrepentant. "All vendors selling on town property have to have a license, whether it's boys selling baked goods or a hot dog vendor," he says. The permit requires a $1 million certificate of insurance and a fee ranging from $150 to $350 per two hours. That's beyond the boys' means, and it looks like they're throwing in the towel. "I don't get too many offers for babysitting, and we live in a development, so shoveling snow is not an option either," Andrew tells The Journal News. "We were being entrepreneurs, but now I feel a little defeated." Sadly, all of this could have been avoided if they'd just had the good sense to deliver a couple dozen cupcakes to the local Council offices.
Tagged
bake sale
chappaqua
cupcakes
Michael Wolfensohn
westchester
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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