You can "Like" the Middle Eastern Halal Food cart on Facebook. No comment from Facebook if they will add an option to "move a park bench in front of" this page.

“Plain and simple: we need to level the playing field.”

That’s what Justin Brannan, press secretary for Councilman Vincent Gentile, said to us when asked to comment on last week’s developments in the conflict between Bay Ridge’s food carts and brick-and-mortar restaurants.

Councilman Gentile has often been reported as opposing food carts in the BID, and made comments on the issue at the Community Board 10 general meeting in April. We reached out to Brannan, wanting to know what specific proposals the Councilman was offering.

“The mobile food vendors of today should be held to the same standards as any brick and mortar restaurant,” Brannan continued. “To that end, Councilman Gentile co-sponsored and strongly supports Councilman Daniel Garodnick’s proposed legislation which would require mobile food vendors to display letter grades similar to the ones posted in restaurants throughout the city.”

Brannan also highlighted the City’s conflicting laws and regulations, something noted in Community Board 10 chairwoman Joanne Seminara’s report to the board. Continue reading for a statement from the lawyer of an area halal cart, and to learn about the black market for food cart permits…