Mayor Bloomberg Actually Does Like That Anti-Food Truck Bill

Never mind.

Although Mayor Bloomberg surprised more than a few people last week when he signaled his opposition to Councilmember Jessica Lappin's proposed anti-food truck legislation, it turns out -- unsurprisingly -- that he's not really sympathetic to food vendors after all.

The Observer notes that on Friday morning Bloomberg used his radio show to clarify his position on Lappin's proposed legislation, which would revoke the license of any vendor who racks up more than three parking tickets in a year.

The mayor stated that he agreed with Lappin, but said that "she's just doing it the wrong way." The problem, he continued, is that the health department "does not have the staff to go and do it the way she wants, but we're trying to find another way to accomplish because she is right."

Why is she right? Because food trucks are "moving stores," according to the mayor. And although the streets weren't designed for moving stores,

that's exactly what we're doing. We are moving stores into the streets and they sit there and they park and they take up parking places and they block traffic. We have decided the streets are for people and the sidewalks and bicycles in a bicycle lane, and buses in a buses lane, and cars and trucks in the other, and not the stores.

Of course, last week Bloomberg was calling for support of these "moving stores," urging officials to find a balance between curbing pollution and congestion and allowing small business owners and their employees to make a living. Regardless of whether food trucks are small businesses or moving stores or both, what's coming out of Bloomberg's mouth can only be defined as hot air.

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