May 22, 2008
Beloved Food Vendor Owes $16,865 for Violations
Fellow vendors and loyal customers are rallying to the defense of Antonios Dragonas, the 50-year-old pushcart food vendor who may soon be put out of business. For the past 25 years, Vendy runner-up Antonios Dragonas, has been serving his famous lamb shish kebab from the corner of Madison Avenue and East 62nd Street, but now the Department of Health is refusing to renew his license and permit.
The Times has it that during a twelve month period during 2006 and 2007 Dragonas was cited for 19 violations of the New York City Health Code, including “failing to protect food from potential contamination and failing to keep it at required temperatures, as well as handling food without gloves.” Over time, he’s accumulated 42 outstanding violations, totaling $16,865 in unpaid fines. The health department refused to renew his license in February and is urging a judge to make the suspension permanent.
Dragonas’s lawyer tells the Times his client has since “remedied the food-related violations, but some of the tickets — for offenses like not wearing a hat or setting his cart up nine feet from the corner rather than the required 10 feet — seemed overly punitive.” Droganas says he’s never had anyone complain, and he’s so popular that some local workers call their orders into Dragonas to avoid the lunchtime rush. Check out this terrific video about him on the Street Vendor Project website.
Photo of Droganas's cart courtesy Slice/Flickr.
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Dragonas says he never had anyone complain.
Yeah, dude. The health department is complaining now. Pay up.
I'm confused...because his food is good, he shouldn't have to obey the same laws that every other food cart vendor is subject to? Doesn't make sense to me.
It's pretty gross he doesn't think some sort of hair covering is needed while he prepares food.
Ew...
His stuff is better and probably cleaner than those stupid slugs in a shell as shown here yesterday. Look at that escargot. Ew...
Keeping drinkin' the koolaid panda, it'll help you too "i'm confused" you're better off getting that $9 salad at chop't anyway. The fact that Tony has a line of over 50 people daily for 2 decades at lunch time is testament to his "standards of quality" This is just another example of the city not getting a big enough slice of his business. Next they'll fine him for not having a menu board (let alone the calorie count) on a chicken breast. You don't even eat there so leave your feedback with Perez or TMZ.... I don't here you hatin' on yourself for surfing the web on your company dime (get back to work) I'm self employed!
I don't wear gloves or a hat when cooking food for myself or for friends. Those silly rules of the health code.
Let them eat cake:
http://tinyurl.com/5ngjyo
Tony's supporters fight back!
I don't care how good the street meat is - you are just asking for food poisoning by getting food from one of those carts...and I'm saying this as a lesson I learned the hard way.
Endcorporategreed = you effing commie.
I bet you don't live in a building with one of these greasy smelling stands in the front polluting YOUR air all day, do you? If not, STFU.
So 50 people eat that crap, so it must be good?
You moron! A lot of people eat clay. Mmm.. must be good.
Folks, notice he just joined today.
Are you Tony or that other commie creep, Sean Basitsky?
A lot of people eat clay?
Sounds gross but actually, they say that when you go abroad, to eat the streetvendor food because you see where their hands are. If it's made in the back, who knows if the cook wasn't jizzing into your falafel or wiping some asshole juice into your kebab? With the long lines and the quick turns, this guy's food is probably more sanitary than the steak tartare at '21'. All the same, he needs to pay up, and pay heed. He's raking it in and what's the big deal about having to wear gloves?
Anyone who complains about street vendor cleanliness should be banned from entering New York
The point is that he ignored the fines for years and years. If they were so "overy punitive", he should have faught them in court. Pay the effing tickets and stop your whining.
#11 Yes, it is called geophagy.
Google : eat clay