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Throttling The Good Humor Man. Not.
By Greg L | 9 July 2007 | Manassas City | 13 Comments
Manassas is cleaning up the explosion of improperly licensed and unlicensed street peddlers, and is considering ending the practice of licensing street peddlers, who according to the city code are not authorized to ply their goods on city streets and sidewalks anyways. In predictable fashion, the editorial board of the Manassas Journal-Messenger starts crying about the death of the “Good Humor Man” and opines that the city should just implement a more rigorous inspection regime to bring these often disgusting and unsanitary vendors into compliance with health regulations. While the MJM seems to be eager to encourage new regulatory burdens on the city which doesn’t have the personnel to perform, they’ve decried the concept of more rigorous attempts to remove criminal illegal aliens on the basis that the city didn’t have the funds to hire the personnel to process these illegals for deportation. So here’s another opportunity for the MJM to suck up to the illegal alien lobby, and they don’t let it pass.
It’s worth noting that this started when concerned citizens started asking questions about ice cream pushcarts that exploded onto the scene a year or two ago, and it was determined that none of these vendors were properly licensed. These hazards to traffic, being pushed around the city by persons who had never been subjected to a background check nor a health check were sometimes seen selling their wares in the parking lots of the public schools. Reports from several students came in that some of these vendors were using their pushcarts as a cover for cocaine distribution. This wasn’t the “Good Humor” man many of us remember from long ago. These were people operating businesses without having obtained the required licenses and permits, and many were suspected to be illegal aliens.
Since the issue of where mobile street peddlers came up, it made sense for the city council to review the broader practice, which included taco trucks, “roach coaches”, and ice cream trucks. Apparently there are problems there as well, which surprises few who frequently see decrepit, dirty vehicles all over town selling prepared or packaged foods with no visible business license. Those that sell prepared foods sometimes cook their foods in non-inspected and unapproved kitchens (or even in backyards) such as one house on Lomond Drive in the county near Damascus Drive which seems to operate a commercial food business from a residence. When fraud and noncompliance appear to be so maddeningly common, just doing away with the whole practice makes a lot of sense.
Businesses which don’t follow the rules negatively impact those that do. It’s hard to compete with someone who didn’t obtain the proper licenses, isn’t inspected, and may well be run by low-wage illegal aliens whom a responsible businessman cannot hire. Businesses that cheat drive out businesses which play by the rules, and unless we want our local business community to race to the lowest common denominator of licensing and permit evasion, as well as violation of health, safety, labor and tax laws, and destroy the quality and character of Manassas, considering this decision not only makes sense but it’s an imperative. A vibrant business community cannot survive this.
So while the MJM laments that children might no longer be able to purchase unsafe foods from mobile vendors who might be illegal alien sex offenders infested with hepatitis, as if this was a 1965 “Good Humor” man in his white cap and his spotlessly clean ice cream truck, I doubt a lot of Manassas residents are going to miss Skippy the non-English speaking Taco Truck Man who parks his 1965 rusted-out hulk in a Georgetown South parking lot so he can feed day laborers.
The opinions expressed here are solely the views of the author, and not representative of the position of any organization, political party, doughnut shop, knitting guild, or waste recycling facility, but may be correctly attributed to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. If anything in the above article has offended you, please click here to receive an immediate apology.
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13 Comments
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Of the course the MJM also had an article that spotlighted people in favor of keeping the vendors, particularly those located in the parking lot of the shopping center by GTS. The article also gave time to the owners of Joe’s Pizza and subs, and how they are against the vendors since they have impacted their take out business(people are too scared to come to the shop to pick up food).
Funny, how the MJM never has counter-point articles that focus on the negative impact of illegals. But, low and behold, they do when they sense the City is targeting illegals.
I’ve been a patron of Joe’s for many years and I would never stop in there anymore to order carry out.
If the “taco” truck and the seafood truck picked up their trash maybe the reaction to them might be different. Also these are vending trucks, yet I see them put tables and chairs out and they pretend to be a restaurant.
Can they be reported to the police for license violation? How about the health department, too?
k. o’toole-
Pre-packaged food is not regulated by the health department. But if you see violations with the vendors making food, by all means call the health department on them.
There are 6 ice cream trucks and 2 ice cream push carts that have licenses in the City. One license belongs to a woman, so if you see more than one cart in the City being pushed by a male, then at least one of them isn’t licensed to push that cart. If you call the police will respond.
Greg,
I agree with you the majority of the time, but I do differ a bit on this issue. The city only has three licensed ice cream trucks. One of them is Mike R.’s, who has been licensed for 4 years. He is a U.S. citizen and an employee of one of our federal alphabet agencies. He is a homeowner and businessman, and has a great looking ice cream truck. He only carries pre packaged items for sale. No health risk!
We do need to do something! But we need to think about how to do it and then do it right.
Finally, on the so called zoning rights of the taco truck and others in Georgetown South, retail centers are required to have a certain amount of parking per retail foot. If these trucks are now retail space then the center must have extra parking. These trucks take up spaces, as does there foot traffic. They are probably violating zoning with those trucks on thier lot.
I happened to be in the Hornbaker Industrial Park this morning, and noticed what looked like a police raid on a warehouse that had the green pushcarts inside. There were several police cars and a number of people standing outside the warehouse talking. And police were talking on radios. I snapped a couple of photos but did not feel comfortable getting too close. Perhaps we will see something about this in the paper tomorrow.
When I lived in South America, push cart vendors were everywhere. When I’d walk home from school , there was a particular vendor always waiting to flash his woefully huge penis at all the girls. He sure was proud of his appendage…it was like his best friend. At times he would have it ( his” best friend”) laying in a hot dog bun. THIS is what we will eventually face if we don’t get rid of this crap.
Mark W. Weaver,
Thanks for that report on the “pushcart raid”. That’s great news!!
I’m sorry to say, I doubt we will see this story in MJM, for two days if then.I sure hope I’m wrong. I have to say, I haven’t seen a single one in Westgate for about 48 hours, and I’m loving it! I was hearing those darn bells, DING, DING, DING,DING…..day in and day out.
This is one of many things we can do to make PWC and the 2Cities, less desirable for the illegals.
We need the PWCBOS to vote YES, to Mr. Stirrup’s proposal tomorrow!!!! PWC needs to lead the way NOW!!!!!!!!!
i have read the online comments from readers of today’s MJM story and the one on July 6th, they are interesting.
One point that needs to be made about the vendors, it’s the 4 to 5 that were on the same side walk @ the same time, that alone is an issue.
Just drive around and see all the “roach coahes” 2 to a house on the corner of Lomand and Victoria, just insane.
The moblie dinning experience. It is not just in Georgetown South, There was one for the longest time @the Shell station by Global food or in the parking lot near the commuter lot. There is another over by Va Meats past Law’s Acution ( called someting else, I think) before you get to Centreville and they had the table and chairs too.
Hmmmm…where should we all meet to dine this evening….so many new places to dine out and so little time.
I am currently in communication with leasing and management companies of a certain shopping center about the mobile diners. The companies are concerned about the tenants in their stores, reduction of customers to the stores, and the condition of the parking lot, etc. So if these cantinas are continuing to show up, I suggest you talk to a manager of any of the legitimate store, ask for the management company’s phone # and call in to find out IF the chuckwagon has permission to be on the property and give them any details you have.
“If these trucks are now retail space, then the shopping center has to have extra parking”……..Austin, have you ever attended one of the City of Manassas Zoning hearings??? You might be surprised to learn 75 feet does not mean 75 feet!!! In other words, definitions are NOW interpretations. And at the last weeks land-use committee meeting it was told that the vendors in the shopping center on Grant Avenue submitted site plans which the zoning administrator approved, including the one that is plugged into the light pole for his electrical connection!! so just because extra parking in SUPPOSED to be increased does not mean that is has or ever will.
After reading the MJM the last few days, I had to call today and cancel my subscription after 14 years. They are disgacefully one sided.