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State Senator Will Propose Food Cart Letter-Grade Bill This Week
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 27, 2011
Modified Nov 27, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 27, 2011
Modified Nov 27, 2011
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Following the lead of Mayor Bloomberg and other city councilmembers, Queens State Senator José Peralta says he will introduce legislation this week that will require local health departments to set up a letter-grade systems for food carts. Perhaps this will allow the food vendors to end the siege that is the Great Food Truck Crackdown of 2011 and literally come clean.
"Consumers should know if what they are eating meets certain safety standards," Peralta tells the Post. "If they have an 'A,' you'll eat there. If they have a 'C,' maybe not." The Democratic minority whip adds, "They're going to want to achieve the letter A and say, 'I have the best cart in 10 blocks.' " Aww, has Peralta never been trampled by a mob of drunken shwarma junkies?
Currently there are only 20 health inspectors that are assigned to the city's food carts, and the results are not made public. Given the lack of manpower and resources, the city's Health Department has so far been skeptical of any plans to enact a more elaborate grading system for food carts. Personally, we'd like to see a minimum placed on how much a vendor can charge for a hot dog—we're looking in your direction, $3-a-wiener guy who sits next to the Brooklyn Bridge.
Tagged
drunken bliss
food cart crackdown
food carts
halal
health department
letter grades
mayor bloomberg
shwarma
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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