Mobil Food Truck Service Still Banned From Roosevelt Island But New Policy Guidelines To Allow Food Trucks While Protecting Existing Restaurants Being Considered By RIOC - What's Next, Banning Fresh Direct Grocery Deliveries To Protect Gristedes Supermarket?
Are Roosevelt Island residents any closer to enjoying the same fast, convenient and edible offerings from mobile food truck vendors (Luke's Lobster's Rolls) as residents of other New York City neighborhoods? That was one of the Agenda items discussed at the January 11 Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board of Directors Real Estate Committee meeting.
Well, the answer is that the subject of Roosevelt Island Mobile Food Truck service is still being studied and evaluated by RIOC. During the well attended RIOC Real Estate Committee meeting we learned:
- Mobile Food Trucks do not need any additional licenses or permits other than those granted by New York City to operate in Battery Park City and that Battery Park City defers to NYC rules and regulations regarding Mobile Food Trucks on its streets,
- RIOC believes it has the authority to require Mobile Food Trucks with NYC licenses to obtain additional permits from RIOC even thought the mobile food trucks can operate in other NYC neighborhoods,
- Riverwak Bar & Grill/Nonno's Focacceria Pizza owner Alphonse DiCioccio objects to mobile food trucks on Roosevelt Island though co-owner Jonathan Hoo acknowledges that additional food choices on the Island would be a good thing, just not too close to his restaurant,
- Some RIOC Directors expressed the view that existing restaurants need to be protected from the mobile food trucks while other Directors think that competition will sort things out,
- a resident made the excellent comparison of banning/restricting mobile food trucks on Roosevelt Island for the benefit of protecting existing restaurants from competition to banning Fresh Direct Grocery Deliveries in order to protect Gristedes,
- Main Street Master Lease Agreement allows Hudson/Related to decide whether to allow Mobile Food Trucks/Street Vendors in the area from Blackwell House to Motorgate but not in Southtown or other locations on Roosevelt Island and
- the Real Estate Committee will meet in a few weeks to make a decision
and an audio webcast of the whole meeting including additional Agenda item discussion of Roosevelt Island community space which appears to be limited to Sportspark.