New York Street Food

(credit: NYSF)

With all the chatter about the upcoming Vendy Awards, and a recent appointment on the Upper East Side, we decided to stop by Paty’s Tacos (also spelled Patty’s Tacos on one sign) for a couple of small goodies.

Last year Paty’s was given the very first Most Heroic Vendor Award from the Vendys folks for taking on NYC in the legal arena. If you want to read more about that Paty’s legal fight with NYC, click here.

We needed a couple of noshes before our appointment, so we got an order of sopes for $5 and a spicy pork taco for $2.50.

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We first ran across Paty’s Tacos on the Upper East Side, where they were fixtures on 86th St & Lexington Ave for a long time. A couple of years ago, Paty’s was forced out of the area by complaints from local businesses, which is not unusual with popular food trucks.

Paty’s is now on Union Square West by 14th St, and I decided to try a Mexican dish I’ve never had before – tlacoyos (lah-koy-yoz), which cost $6.  I offer the pronunciation because I had no idea how to say it until the woman in the truck told me how.

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Paty’s Taco Truck has lost a lawsuit against New York City related to food trucks that park in metered spaces…and the judge’s ruling has the potential to disrupt business for all food trucks that serve food from NYC metered parking spaces.

From DNAInfo: A Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled on Friday that food trucks are subject to a city law prohibiting merchandise to be sold from metered parking spots, ending a longstanding grey area that allowed the trucks to sell their wares from curbside spots until the meter ran out.

Justice Geoffrey Wright’s ruling came in response to a request by Paty’s Taco Truck for the court to allow it to sell food from metered spots on the Upper East Side without fear of tickets or towing.

Paty’s Tacos had their truck towed three times from metered parking spots during an NYPD ticket blitz that launched a battle over the city’s metered parking rules.

An earlier judge had dismissed all but one of the NYPD’s tickets against Paty’s Tacos on technical grounds, saying that they were written incorrectly.

Sean Basinski, of the Street Vendor Project, which is representing Paty’s, said he was “very disappointed in the judge’s ruling, and we intend to appeal.”

Wright offered a possible path for changing the rules — though not through the courts.

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Paty's Tacos truck

Paty’s Taco truck and NYC are now at war.  Paty’s has built up a loyal following on the Upper East Side (Lexington Ave & 86th St) over the past two years, but Community Board 8 has decided they are a public nuisance.  They say the truck is illegally hogging metered parking spots and that they are unfairly compete with struggling brick-and-mortar stores.

After a concerted ticketing blitz by police (at the insistence of Community Board 8 and the East 86th St Association), Paty’s Taco truck was towed by the city on Jan. 18th.  This was the 2nd time they were towed.

The first time they were towed, in Nov 2010, all of their perishables and other items — including its generator — were removed from the truck.  After they paid the $370 to get their truck back in November, they had to take out a $5,000 loan so they could restart the business that provides the livelihood for six families.

Now Paty’s owner, Patricia Monroy, is suing the city to win back her old turf.  According to Gothamist, yesterday Monroy filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court against the city, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and police officer Sean St. Clair. 

DNAinfo reports she’s also seeking a preliminary injunction to allow her to return to her usual vending spot until the case is resolved. (The truck can currently be found on West 86th Street and Broadway during the day and at night in Union Square.)  But with all the legal fees, Monroy says she’s on the brink of going out of business, and can barely afford to pay for the garage where she parks the truck.

“We just want justice,” says Monroy. “I just want to prove to the city we’re not breaking the law.”

If you see Paty’s Tacos and want to give them your support, buy some food from them.  We have enjoyed their campechano burrito and huaraches de pollo, and there are plenty of other choices on the menu.

Paty's campechano burrito

Paty's Taco Truck getting towed by the NYPD (from DNAInfo)

From DNAInfo: Paty’s Taco Truck, which has built a loyal following on the Upper East Side corner over the last two years but was ousted from the neighborhood more than a month ago, was towed away by the NYPD just after 1pm today (Tuesday).  The truck has been on Lexington Ave between 86th & 87th St for more than 2 years, but was forced to move to Morningside Heights (by Columbia University) due to a concerted ticketing blitz and the arrest of the owner’s son.

“They told us we had to move or we’d be towed,” Loera explained as the cops rigged the food truck to the tow truck.  They gave Paty’s truck a $55 summons saying it was not allowed to sell merchandise from a metered spot, Loera said. His mother, Patricia Monroy, who does not speak English, made the ultimate decision to stay put once her family translated what the cops were saying.

Roughly eight officers in a police van had been monitoring Paty’s the entire morning, said Sean Basinski, director of the Street Vendor Project, an advocacy group based at the Urban Justice Center.  But no one anticipated the towing.

“Even if they were breaking parking rules — and I don’t think they were because I don’t think food is merchandise — that’s why they get a ticket. But that’s not a worth a tow,” Basinski said.  The food truck was careful to follow parking rules, Loera said.

It arrived on the Upper East Side about 10:15 a.m., changing spots about 11 a.m. and again an hour later.  Loera and his mother, who was tearing as the truck was being towed, hopped in a cab to follow it. They did not want a repeat of the last towing, when all of their perishables and other items — including its generator — had been removed from the truck, Loera said.  After they paid the $370 to get their truck back in November, they had to take out a $5,000 loan so they could restart the business that provides the livelihood for six families, Loera said.

Paty’s had faced the ire of several residents on Community Board 8, who complain about food trucks in the area.  They worry the trucks are illegally hogging metered parking spots and that they are unfairly competing with struggling brick-and-mortar stores.  But Loera had been determined to come back to where he built a loyal following in more than two years in the neigborhood.  Many in the neighborhood were delighted last week when Paty’s had its soft opening in the evenings before heading down to Union Square where it feeds a late night crowd.  “Their veggie tacos are really good,” said Barkha More, an accountant who lives a block away and gets her dinner at Paty’s at least once a week. “I was going to go down to Union Square to get them.”

From New York Street Food: While most of us who read New York Street Food enjoy and patronize food trucks, we must remember that not everyone does.  The following comment was placed on our Mobile Munchies post this morning:

“These trucks are popping up on every corner taking parking and adding generator noise and smells. The food is cheap and good yes but at what cost to the city? Cheers for the NYPD. The vendors have a group called THE STREET VENDOR PROJECT, a completely one sided organization. Pushback on street vendors is coming. Pedestrians have rights. Storeowners have rights. Residents have rights. In Chelsea there is an average of 2 new food trucks per day. Many do not move the trucks at all. Imagine you live on the second floor for years and one day a huge truck with a generator pulls up and starts the generator. The smell overwhelms you once humble residence. It is happening all the time. Lets not make our city into an American version of Calcutta or Cairo with street vendors everywhere.”

Our response to the above comment: “We understand that not everyone loves food trucks, which is why most of the truck owners are very careful and sensitive to complaints from local residents and businesses. The maze of rules and regulations is also a great source of confusion for truck owners and police alike. Greater clarification of the laws governing food trucks would be beneficial to all”

Paty's Taco Truck owners Alberto Loera and Patricia Monroy before it got towed (from DNAInfo)