It doesn’t quite have the same ring as Say Goodbye To Hollywood, but it has the same effect.
Wednesday night, after many months of back-and-forth, Hoboken passed a draconian new food truck law.
The new law includes significantly increased fees, stipulates that no more than three trucks can be parked on one block, and requires truck owners to install a GPS device (!) in their vehicles. How Big Brother of them!
Food truck owners will have to pay a $500 registration fee, plus a $2,500 annual enforcement fee. Between that and the other restrictions, all the food truck owners we spoke with will be leaving Hoboken.
Trucks are allowed to park at a metered spot for eight hours a day, of which no more than six hours can be spent at one meter. This means a truck cannot serve lunch and dinner in the same place, and will have to spend twice as long each day setting up and breaking down.
Trucks aren’t allowed to park within 75 feet from a brick and mortar establishment with a menu.
With all the discussion over the past year, vendors saw this coming and tried to rally support, but the restaurant lobby was just too strong. Now they will be looking for greener pastures.
Cinnamon Snail obtained a NYC permit last December and will be coming into the city more often. Two Pitas In A Pod will spend more time in Newark and Jersey City, and is looking for more events to attend. The Taco Truck already has a small restaurant and a deal with the New York Red Bulls, but will be exploring other options for the truck as well.
To put a positive spin on a bad situation, Hoboken’s loss is everyone else’s gain.
