Vendy Awards Name Food Cart Vendor Most Heroic, Despite Alleged Illegality

By on August 22, 2012  Business
Aug 222012
 

The last time we checked in on the 5th Avenue food cart battle, elected officials including Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and City Councilman Vincent Gentile had begun to weigh in. Then Brooklyn Paper’s Will Bredderman reported the news that Sammy Kassen – who doesn’t actually have a vendor permit, was renting his Middle Eastern Halal Cart from the permit holder which, according to city law, is illegal.

But that didn’t stop the Vendy Awards – an annual rundown of the best mobile food vendors in NYC, from naming Kassen the “Most Heroic Vendor” of 2012 for defending his turf from an alliance of brick and mortar businesses organized by Lone Star Bar owner Tony Gentile [no relation to Councilman Gentile] called Save Our Streets. Continue reading »

De Blasio Weighs In On Food Carts, Calls For Greater Regulation

By on May 16, 2012  Politics
May 162012
 

Public advocate and mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio weighed in on the 5th Avenue food cart fight during a recent meeting of the Bay Ridge Democrats – stating that the carts are hurting restaurants on the strip and may have to go, writes Will Bredderman for Brooklyn Daily.

“The fact is right now that the weight of regulation falls on our traditional businesses,” de Blasio reportedly told Bredderman as he exited the meeting. “We need to be careful in regards to where we allow food vendors to be placed.” Continue reading »

As City ‘officially’ enters food cart fray, the papers portray different pictures

By on May 9, 2012  News
May 092012
 

Left: screen capture of nydailynews.com featuring Jacob Osterhout’s photo of Lonestar Bar owner Tony Gentile. Right: Screenshot of brooklyndaily.com featuring Elizabeth Graham’s “tough guy” pictures of Gentile and Middle Eastern Halal Cart owner Sammy Kassen.

In the saga of the 5th Avenue food cart wars, perspective can be everything. A recent Daily News piece, which reported on the recent immersion of public officials into the matter, took a decidedly different approach than the News Corp-owned CNG publications Brooklyn Daily and Brooklyn Paper – an angle best illustrated by… illustrations. Continue reading »

Halal Food Carts Back At Old Spot On Fifth Avenue, But Will Peace Ultimately Prevail?

By on May 3, 2012  Food & Drink
May 032012
 

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, the occupation of Bay Ridge’s Fifth Avenue by an outspoken group of local business owners ended, allowing Halal food vendor Sammy Kassen to move down the block to his favorite spot near 86th Street – for now.

Kassen, who according to Brooklyn Paper’s Will Bredderman had promised to circle his cart around the block until the group of surly store owners known as Save Our Streets, led by Lone Star Bar operator Tony Gentile, moved their tables. While Kassen may be back, his Tuesday did not go smoothly. Continue reading »

Fifth Ave Food Cart Wars Escalate With Sidewalk Occupation

By on May 2, 2012  Business
May 022012
 

Tensions between Bay Ridge’s brick-and-mortar business owners and the neighborhood’s mobile food cart vendors are on the rise, after an angry group of 5th Avenue merchants occupied a popular sidewalk vendor spot on Monday.

Members of a new group of store owners known as Save Our Streets, which is headed by Lone Star Bar [8703 5th Ave] owner Tony Gentile, sold books and magazines from card tables placed on 5th Avenue and 86th Street – a corner that’s popular with the Halal food carts that dot the neighborhood’s busy commercial strips. Continue reading »

Food Cart Opponents Resort To Illegal, Bullying Tactics

By on April 9, 2012  Business, Featured story
Apr 092012
 

Not the halal cart in question.

Community Board 10 Chairwoman Joanne Seminara has expressed the Board’s opposition to allowing food carts in Bay Ridge’s Business Improvement Districts, where brick-and-mortar business pay a tax surcharge in exchange for premium city services. She makes an eloquent, reasoned case for it when she speaks to media outlets such as Fox 5.

But individuals that have decided to take matters into their own hands – and outside of the law – threaten to tarnish the opposition’s message and give them a bullying image that will be hard to shed. Continue reading »