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Hot dog vendor Pasang Sherpa made headlines a few months back for his big six-figure bids to guarantee lucrative space slinging franks outside the Metropolitan Museum, paying out $643,000 annually to the Parks Department for his spots outside the Met. At the time, he said that he didn't want to pay the city his big rent bills because he contended that nearby construction was having too negative of an impact on his business. Now after following through on his threat to hold off rent, the city has responded by evicting him. A Parks Department spokesman says Sherpa had fallen $310,000 behind in rent. Sherpa told the News that he was "going crazy" and didn't know what to do or where to go. Even more lost though were some Rhode Island tourists outside the Upper East Side museum, one of whom told the paper, "We don't know the area or where else to eat but here. There's no other place to eat around here." When Sherpa's original beef was reported in January, the Post said that another nearby vendor on 5th Avenue was set up and operating without permission or paying anything because of "a regulation that lets veterans like him bypass the bidding process."
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Just walk over to Madison; there are several options that'll suit any wallet. I'm a frequent visitor to the Met and any time I went to one of the vendors there, they were very rude. I don't know if this is one of the guys, but if so, karma's a bitch.
I hate lazy tourists.
I hate to say it but the laziest tourists are those from nearby states in the Northeast (especially daytrippers). Maybe because they live so close, they don't feel the need to read a guidebook or prepare in advance for their trip.
I frequently take the bus down 5th Ave. and when it stops at the Met, there are untold numbers of boarding tourists who have no idea as to amount of the bus fare or how to pay it (one tourist even tried to cram a dollar bill into the coin slot). One group of tourists was so completely clueless that the amused bus driver asked, "Where are you folks from?" My thought was that they might be from some place like Wyoming. The tourists' answer? New Jersey!
You're right, and that makes me hate them more.
$643,000 a year for rent? You've got to be kidding me!! For the pleasure of standing in the street selling freaking hot dogs?
$643,000? Are sure about those #'s
That's a pretty insane amount. He was paying almost $1000 per day for the north entrance location.
But then again, it's not the city asking for the amount. He bid that much. Apparently, Sherpa and the next highest bidder he beat out never took into account just how much profit could be made and whether the bid is worth it. Assuming that $1k per day and if they're open 12 hours a day, that's $83 an hour that they have to clear after supplies, utilities and labor. Labor for two workers at $10/hr would be another $240 per day, assuming no benefits but not including unemployment tax. Let's say $30 for propane. That's a lot of hot dogs to sell, even at $2 markup per frank.
I don't see how that guy could have ever made up that kind of cash selling hot dogs. I could understand say 100K a year considering the average price of a medallion for a cab is around that price, but over half a million a year for a concessions cart? You're out of your mind.