I received a call last night from Hiassam of Frites ‘N’ Meats. He was the one who tweeted “does anyone know where they took my brothers” after their accident on the West Side Highway on Monday.
There are a few things Hiassam wants to get out there, and asked me to relate these to everyone.
First, Hiassam would like everyone to respect their privacy during this difficult time. They appreciate everyone’s concern, but have not really had the time to respond to emails and voice mails. Please keep inquiries limited to emails as they cannot answer the phone at this time.
Hiassam said he was reaching out to me to relate this information because I was the only one who did not try to call or email him during this ordeal. Guess I’ve been through enough stuff like this to know to hang back, and let them reach out when they’re ready.
Hiassam said there are two things everyone has been asking: How did it happen, and are they coming back?
He honestly doesn’t have an answer for the first question. They still aren’t sure exactly what happened. Mohammed was driving, and he suffered some serious burns from the fire and scrapes from jumping out of a moving vehicle through the side window to escape the flames. He has been pretty drugged up most of this week in the hospital, and they are not sure if he will be out in a week, a few weeks, or a month. Miraculously, their new crew member was able to get out relatively unscathed. Ali had just left the truck an hour before.
As far as whether they are coming back, that is their intention as of today, but the physical and mental health of Mohammed is paramount. Mohammed and Ali say they can’t wait to get back on the street, but Hiassam wants to make sure his brother is fully healed before this occurs.
A lot of people have contacted them about donating money to help rebuild the Frites ‘N’ Meats truck. Hiassam, who has an accounting background, wants to make sure everything is above-board and transparent. Their close friend, Kathy Foronjy, set up a Paypal account for donations. https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=N6RRQY7HUXDN4.
Hiassam wants to assure everyone that if the amount of donations exceed the cost of getting Frites ‘N’ Meats up and running, they will donate any excess to either a NYC children’s charity or a charity that feeds New Yorkers in need.
They also set up an email account, fritesnmeatsdonations@yahoo.com for all media inquiries and all inquiries related to rebuilding efforts.
Hiassam, Ali and Mohammed would like to thank everyone for their best wishes and support during this difficult time. They will reach out to people at various times when they are ready.
All we at NYSF can add is, we are grateful that everyone came through this ok, and we wish Mohammed a speedy recovery. We look forward to having Frites ‘N’ Meats back on the NYC streets.
As a reminder, NYC Food Truck Association members are donating up to 10% of their s today to Frites ‘N’ Meats. Please get out for lunch today and show your support for our street food brothers.
