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Paty's Taco Truck Sues City Over UES Food Truck Crackdown
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 10, 2011
Modified Feb 10, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 10, 2011
Modified Feb 10, 2011
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After developing a loyal following on the Upper East Side over the past three years, Paty's Taco Truck was forced out of its usual spot last November because of a food truck ticket blitz. But the truck's owner has been digging her wheels in, and repeatedly returned to the spot only to get hassled again and again. The truck was towed twice in one week in January, and Paty's owner Patricia Monroy says the cops are "following orders" from the East 86th Street Association, which represents Upper East Siders who don't particularly care for these increasingly popular food trucks. And so now Monroy is suing the city to win back her old turf.
Yesterday Monroy filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court against the city, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and police officer Sean St. Clair. DNAinfo reports she's also seeking a preliminary injunction to allow her to return to her usual vending spot until the case is resolved. (The truck can currently be found on West 86th Street and Broadway during the day and at night in Union Square.) But with all the legal fees, Monroy says she's on the brink of going out of business, and can barely afford to pay for the garage where she parks the truck. "We just want justice," says Monroy. "I just want to prove to the city we're not breaking the law."
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food truck
paty's taco truck
street food
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
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