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Hipster Cop Cracking Down On Food Trucks In SoHo
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Nov 17, 2011
Modified Nov 17, 2011
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By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Nov 17, 2011
Modified Nov 17, 2011
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The seemingly endless battle against food vendors shifted into SoHo today, the first time a significant fight has taken place below 14th Street. And the Hipster Cop is on the case!
DNAinfo reports that Soho residents are complaining that vendors like Kimchi Taco, Big D's Grub, Korilla BBQ, and dozens of less-flashy hot dog and pretzel stands are crowding sidewalks, polluting the air, breaking city rules and creating a huge mess overall. One resident said she counted 78 carts on Broadway between Houston and Broome Streets over the course of an hour and a half. "The city says 'give us your money' and sends all the tourists here, but we don't have garbage [pick-up]," said one resident in a recent community board meeting. "We are a really forgotten community." Ah, yes, SoHo: the Pompeii of New York City.
But others argue that the trucks should stay: “SoHo is one of the high-impact areas for mobile food vendors,” Kenny Lao, a spokesperson for the New York Food Truck Association, told the Times, explaining that vendors are moving downtown after being forcibly removed from other neighborhoods. Besides, food vendors are for the people: “We think [daytime office] workers, and their employers, are grateful for the opportunities the mobile vendors provide," he said.
Leave it to Detective Rick Lee, aka Hipster Cop, who had been conspicuously absent from Occupy Wall Street for the past few weeks, to step in. He promised that the 1st Precinct would start dealing with mobile food vendors in lower Manhattan, which he claims, somewhat strangely, center on Hudson Street. "We're going to be doing more target enforcement on Hudson Street as a result of this meeting," he said. He plans to march right over to those dirty water dog vendors and shock and awe them with the power of tweed.
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Jamie Feldmar
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