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Food Trucks Grow Up, Form Food Truck Association
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 23, 2011
Modified Mar 23, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 23, 2011
Modified Mar 23, 2011
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Food trucks are so hot right now that even the airlines are getting in on the action. And with so many of them on the street now bickering amongst themselves and with the police over spaces and rules, we guess we shouldn't be surprised that 32 of the trucks in town have teamed up to form the New York City Food Truck Association.
Headed up by Rickshaw Dumpling Truck owner David Weber, the Association has hired Capalino + Co. to lobby for them. Their first goals? Push for speedier truck licensing (they want it to take two weeks instead of the current six-to-eight) and the right to park and vend at metered spots (even though everyone does it, it technically is against the rules).
"We think the nature of street vending has changed and we are looking to advocate for laws that reflect those changes," Weber told the Journal. "We're trying to overcome some of the stigma that street food has."
Not all the trucks are joining into the group though. Co-founder of the Sweetery truck Grant Di Mille, for instance, decided not to join because he worried the lobbying firm had a conflict of intrest what with their existing restaurant and real-estate clients. Also the "ridiculously territorial" nature of the business didn't lend itself to unity in his eyes. "If it was up to some of the other trucks, they would have us park under the Bayonne Bridge."
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capalino + co
food truck
food trucks
food vendors
new york city food truck association
Garth Johnston
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