TenantNet Forum

Where tenants can seek help and help others



food cart vendors at night

Issues unrelated to specific categories below

Moderator: TenantNet

food cart vendors at night

Postby moet36 » Wed Jan 31, 2018 5:21 am

There is a kebab, etc., cart parked right next to my building at night on weekends and holidays and operating from 11:pm to 5:am, cooking food, not just pulling hotdogs out of hot water. Tenants of our building have complained to police, 311, our LL, etc about this guy but he's been out there for well over a year now flashing his permit and badge anytime he's confronted.

Is this legal?

Even bars must close at 4:am! Restaurants have to ventilated to the roof of the building they're located in. Restaurants have to go through a CB approval process.

I have to close my windows and run fans to get rid of the hideous smell in the wee hours of the morning in order to get any sleep, as do my neighbors. It's like we're paying for his ventilation system. It's simply unacceptable.

Does anyone have an idea of what recourse we have to shut this guy down?
moet36
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2018 5:17 am

Re: food cart vendors at night

Postby TenantNet » Wed Jan 31, 2018 6:13 am

First, tell us you're in NYC as your IP says you're halfway across the world. We have a big problem with spam and routinely delete accounts from that area.

Second, food carts have nothing to do with tenant rights or issues. Most food vendors where I live (and there are many) are not out there at 3 AM, but for the few who are, they don't make much noise. And you don't even allege there's noise that's keeping people up.

Food vendors are licensed by the Dept of Consumer Affairs and need to be approved by the Dept. of Health. See http://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/servi ... -or-permit

You're correct about bar closing times, but the SLA is a state agency and that's for selling alcohol, not food. The guy who sells you a donut, or blueberries, is not selling alcohol.

But you're incorrect in that restaurants do not have to be approved by the local community board (that's only for alcohol, not to sell food).

Ventilation of course is when you're inside a building. Last I checked, food carts are not. You are not paying for the cart's ventilation system. The sidewalk is public space and you don't own the air above it. So that's not a good argument, and comes off as you're being millennial and entitled ... sort of like the people on the East Side who object to a new building because it might block their view of the river. It's an argument that doesn't fly.

You can complain to the community board about the smell if that is the issue. They might be able to mediate the complaint(s) and get the person to move up or down the street. But don't walk in demanding they "shut him down" as they will laugh you right out of the room.
The Tenant Network(tm) for Residential Tenants
Information from TenantNet is from experienced non-attorney tenant
activists and is not considered legal advice.

Subscribe to our Twitter Feed @TenantNet
TenantNet
 
Posts: 10308
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2002 2:01 am
Location: New York City

Re: food cart vendors at night

Postby Rosita » Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:42 pm

Maybe contact the Department of Environmental Protection about the air quality issue.
Rosita
 
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri May 22, 2015 12:49 pm

Re: food cart vendors at night

Postby Typhoon_SSN » Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:44 am

So, how did it turn out in the end? I wanted to advise you to try to go for a friendly settlement between the community board and the owner of the food cart by explaining your issue calmly ; the guy's business is completely legal, and as far as I've understood, the main problem is the smell. Wouldn't it be solved easily by just asking the guy to move something like 200ft away from under your windows if you've got this much of an issue?

PS : I know my IP will show that I'm in Russia, I'm just visiting my family-in-law there ; my wife and her mother came to NYC in the 90s, but the rest of the family has remained in the Motherland.
Typhoon_SSN
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 5:19 am


Return to NYC General Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 29 guests