PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Food truck vendors in North Philadelphia are banding together after several trucks were towed by the Philadelphia Parking Authority last week. This action follows a city council ordinance that pushed some of the trucks to close early. The newly formed Latino Food Truck Association is fighting back against what they said feels like an attack from local officials.
Frank Francisco Rosario, the president of the Latino Food Truck Association, said it all started when food truck owners began calling him, asking for advice on operating under the city’s new curfew rules.
“They were really scared that they were gonna lose their business because they were looking at an average of 65% of loss in revenue, and that, that was like a slap in the face when these people contribute positively to the tax base,” he said.
Rosario said at least nine trucks associated with the group were seized, despite some of them having updated paperwork.
“There's a truck specifically that has the registration, the insurance, and has all the paperwork, so we have no idea why they took it yesterday,” he said. “It seems like they were told, just go and take all the food trucks that you can.”
Rosario, who started the organization about a month ago, said it was formed out of frustration due to the enforcement of an ordinance introduced by Councilwoman Quetzy Lozada. That ordinance, passed last year, aims to reduce late-night violence by requiring commercial establishments in and around the 7th District to close between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
According to Rosario, food vendors who haven’t been shutting down at 11 p.m. have faced penalties such as $500 fines.
“It seems like my people are under attack,” he said. “I need the city to help us come up with programs where they can educate us. If you think we are not in compliance, show up and approach the Latino Food Truck Association and say, Look, what we're gonna do is this: let's sit down with you guys, bring your members, and let's get them compliant.”
Councilwoman Lozada’s office said all the food trucks towed last week violated their licenses, inspections, or were illegally operating. One had reportedly gone unregistered for five years.
The spokesperson for Lozada’s office said they were not involved in the operation of shutting down the trucks, and it was not a direct result of the curfew bill. The office said it is open to helping any business become compliant with the law and city code.
Rosario said he hopes one day the North Philly food trucks can be seen as a tourist attraction.
“They need to make an exception where food trucks, Latino food trucks, and maybe food businesses are able to still operate,” he said. “If you look at cities like Orlando, Florida, they have food truck parks, they have areas, they have things where you can actually operate.”