Nosy Neighbor: Why is there another food truck in Bogardus Plaza?
This is my own Nosy Neighbor, and I first asked the Friends of Bogardus about it: “Why is there a new food truck in Bogardus Plaza? Isn’t that competing with the concession that the Department of Transportation built to support the plaza? They are right next to each other!”
The Friends is mystified as well, so I got in touch with the Department of Health, which regulates food trucks. They said there are no rules that specifically prohibit a mobile vendor from setting up near a DOT concession. But it sure doesn’t make sense — at least not if the concessionaire hopes to have any luck there.
The DOT said they have not received any complaints, but they did inspect the truck and noted that it was vending less than 10 feet from the crosswalk. The vendor corrected the violation after being served the summons.
(They also issued three summonses to another food cart in the immediate area, one each for vending less than 10 feet from crosswalk, vending less than 20 feet from an subway entrance/exit, and vending from a bus stop.)
Here are some other rules:
- Food vending is prohibited on several streets across the city, and you can see a map of those streets here. (In short, Tribeca is fair game.)
- Pushcarts must be on a sidewalk that is at least 12 feet wide.
- Unit must be within 6-12 inches of the curb.
- Unit must be at least 10 feet from any crosswalk, driveway or subway entrance/exit.
- Unit must be at least 20 feet from a building’s entrance or exit.
- Unit may not be in a bus stop or hospital “No Standing” zone.
