NYC Food Trucks vs. Midtown Parking Ban

From the Mexicue truck in New York City (the "sweet love child of red-hot Mexican cuisine and down-home, barbeque goodness") to West African fusion dishes at Austin's Cazamance food trailer, we are loving the culinary creativity that can be found in the food truck scene. And we also love the ability to turn a workday lunch into a food adventure. So when we heard that NYC food trucks were feeling the pinch about parking in Midtown, we needed to investigate further.

It turns out a court ruling this year began enforcing a 1965 law that prohibits vending from metered parking spots. Without the ability to set up shop in areas where hungry fans come out of their offices at lunch time — particularly in densely populated Midtown Manhattan — NYC food trucks are suffering from a sharp decline in business.

But food truck vendors are speaking out, arguing that the trucks are great for New York City, stimulate culinary innovation, draw tourists and energize the streets. The PSA above is the most recent step these small business owners are taking to build up public support to reverse the ban and allow them to serve mobile meals to their avid fans.

If you want to put your name on their cause, visit their Facebook page and sign the petition asking New York City to find other solutions apart from the ban.

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