Dear Editor:
My name is Hoda Mahmoodzadegan, 26 years old. I am in the process of putting every last nickel and dime I have into a gourmet health food truck called Molly’s Milk Truck. Already having overcome a multitude of obstacles, I am facing an even bigger challenge: The law. Hoboken is looking to pass an ordinance entitled Chapter 147. This ordinance will deny the local community of loyal customers the affordable, convenient, and quick quality food and services offered by mobile food truck vendors (such as ourselves).
Chapter 147 will force current mobile food truck vendors to park at least 75-100 feet away from any brick and mortar establishments and 50 feet away from any other mobile food truck, effectively uprooting us from our most trafficked, consumer-serving spots. This simultaneously denies us mobile vendors access to our target audience; a freedom built-in to the design of our small business and one which we rely on in order to survive. We opened our trucks so that we could specifically move around and satisfy a diverse base of consumers.
In the past, local favorite food trucks have been wrongfully blamed for the economic woes of nearby businesses – more upscale, dinner establishments, which in fact cater to a distinctly different crowd; not the commuter crowd and others who lack the convenience of time who we serve. The proposed law is not narrowly tailored enough to achieve the underlying objectives it sets out to address. We’re at their mercy. Please help.
I sent an email to Councilwoman Jennifer Giattino today, I then forwarded it to all the council members so I could voice my concern (not just as a small business owner but as a concerned consumer as well). If anything, this is an infringement on our rights as a consumer, driving away fair competition to keep brick and mortar owners satisfied. I also have the two hour council meeting recorded, replayed it to try to understand it better but was worked up again when I heard one of the council members patronizing other mobile food truck owners in a condescending tone. I believe that this proposed law is really a violation of equal protection because it discriminates unnecessarily against businesses that otherwise would have a beneficial effect on the community. Curbing such businesses would be even more detrimental to the individual citizen as food trucks provide cheaper and quicker food. Alternatives allow people to save money in depressed economic times while simultaneously freeing up their time to work more/spend more at other establishments.
Businesses of food trucks and restaurants are inherently different and the success of one doesn’t have a tangible effect on the success or failure of the other. This discriminatory law, which is based on zero facts, is really being put into effect because the council is unfairly comparing mobile food truck regulations from large cities like Boston, Austin Texas, New York City, etc to Hoboken (a town that’s 1 square mile).
Please show up at the next council meeting and support small businesses.
Scared Food Truck Owner,
Hoda Mahmoodzadegan