The Roach Coach lady is breaking the law
The Merchants Association seems to have gotten the police involved when it comes to the lunch truck (roach coach) lady. I know they were talking to police about it at the last Merchant's Meeting and I know that many restaurant owners are upset with the police not following the law when it comes to the lady selling on the streets.
In the morning now, you can see a police car parked right in the spot where the roach coach stops to conduct business. This is being taken seriously now.
While one city department is saying that the roach coach is permitted to drive around and sell (they faxed a paper to this effect to various people without a signature or even a letterhead), the City Charter prohibits this and the police car is there to enforce the law.
This comes under vending licenses in the special districts of the City (including Coconut Grove).
If you go to this page here and type in "vending licenses" you can see all the laws. If you scroll down and read the general restrictions about street vending, one major law is there to keep these roach coaches, ice cream trucks and all food vendors away from schools and established businesses.
This roach coach is within 500 feet of businesses and schools. She is breaking the law.
The roach coach cannot be in the district unless there is an actual construction site (not someone doing renovations to their store or house) but an actual building going up, and even then they have to be invited onto the property NOT on the sidewalk or public right of way, or parking spots on the street.
Some city employees who are trying to protect the roach coach lady are apparently not familiar with their own municipal code and they should not be faxing papers with just a sentence or two stating wrong facts, without even a signature or on a letterhead.
The law states that the roach coach lady is not permitted on Grove streets. Period.
posted by Tom Falco at 1:00 PM
YOU MAY NOT LIFT THE PHOTOS & TEXT. IT'S COPYRIGHTED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. YOU CAN HOWEVER SHARE A STORY ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY USING THE LINKS HERE.
For linking to this one story, just click on the time it was posted & just this story will open for sharing - only through social media. Not copying and pasting.
9 Comments:
Perhaps the roach lady can operate
at CABANA ONE. I am sure that by 3AM the patrons should be ready for some real "munchies". Since the Roach Coach is operating illegally, she should feel right at home.
Yeah, it's unfair to the other legal business which have to shell out huge rents & expenses. Plus they can be eyes sores. Little places like grab&go could benefit from this tremendous, niche demand, if they were smart enough:
Serve pretty much what the "roach lady" serves, you know the cheap Latino things you can find ALL OVER Miami, and serve them as cheap and as quickly as possible.
This cators to the blue-collar workers, even here in the Grove, who have little money for breakfast or lunch, and need a huge burrito en empanada for cheap, greasy or not, the spicier the better, but cheap, latino flavors and fast. They need FUEL to work with their hands, and they need their local, traditional foods, the tortillas, cheap sodas, etc. Healthy, gourmet foods are not what they grew up on.
Whomever comes closest to that formula: cheap/colloquial-latino/fast/and nearby there's HUGE demand, especially wherever there's some construction around, that place will be crowded all day. Gotta be legal though.
Can't we get the Merchant's Assoc.
to get on the Boy's in blue about the charity scammer's?? They are bad for business's in the Grove too.
On June 17 2008, Grapevine wrote that he missed the flower vendors on Bird Ave. Perhaps he didn't know that they are unlicensed.
Today he writes "the law states that the roach coach is not permitted on Grove streets".
Legitimate businesses pay rent, taxes, and they help the community. The others ride free. (And forget the "bad economy" line. It's worn out.)
Food, flowers, luggage, what's the difference? You need a license.
Right, Grapevine?
Right on, Tony. The other people that need to go are the people who want to sell you everything under the sun while you wait at a red light. Oranges, limes, lemons, mangos, 5lb bags of shrimp, water, gatorade, socks, t-shirts, and even churros. Who actually sits in traffic and says, "Man, I could really go for a churro right now..."? These people are unlicensed and are certainly not paying taxes on these goods and therefore should be shut down.
And forget the "bad economy" line. It's worn out.
Agreed! Ive had enough with the doom n' gloom media who does nothing but spread negativity. Time to get positive.
Blind Mind you should follow your own advise and ' get positive'....you can carry this license shit to the extreme and that,s what you,re advocating with the licensing of a few old folks selling fruit and cold water at traffic stops......
The lady is only making an honest living.The way the world is today I think we should get along and help other better then this.You should feel lucky and take this time to thank God that you don't have to be selling food in a "rouch coach" like she has too. You are seating in an air conditioning office - take a moment and thank God for what you have.
The lady with the food truck is there for a period no more than 30minutes each day. She has all the vending and peddlers licensed required by law to move about the city and sell her goods. The businesses in the grove are not there to make a profit from the lower working class individuals. The grove lives from tourist that really spend the money. How much business can 30 minutes a day take away from the grove?
Would you be willing to come with me to the next Merchants meeting and explain that? Please email me.
Oh, and in that 30 minutes, she has stolen about 80% if the bookstores and starbucks morning coffee and breakfast biz since most in the morning are the Sony people who make six figure salaries who don't get it either.
Post a Comment
<< Home