Posted on 05/22/2015 2:50:41 PM PDT by dennisw
On Wednesday, Mohammed was slapped with three food-vending citations — after WNBC caught him on camera overcharging customers with accents, police sources said.
A downtown Manhattan food cart vendor is ripping off tourists, charging as much as $30 for a hot dog and a drink, according to a report.
Ahmed Mohammed, who peddles dogs at Greenwich and Albany streets, was caught on camera charging the exorbitant price.
“I asked for a hot dog and a Dr Pepper. ‘$30.’ I said, ‘You’re joking, right?’ ” a New Jersey customer named Ben told WNBC. “He was like ‘$15, maybe $10.’”
The high-priced hot dog man appeared to target customers with accents, who might be tourists, according to a Channel 4 report on Tuesday.
Another customer, David, who has a thick French accent, said he lives in New York and knew he was being ripped off when Mohammed demanded $15 for a hot dog and pretzel.
“I am not a tourist, so I know the price,” David said after storming away from Mohammed’s cart.
Street vendors are free to charge whatever they want, but prices have to be clearly posted, according to the business advocacy group Alliance for Downtown New York.
“It gives New York a bad name,” said group president Jessica Lappin. “To rip off someone, to charge them $35 for a hot dog and pretzel, that leaves a terrible impression.”
When WNBC reporter Melissa Russo approached Mohammed and asked why he was charging so much, the hot dog man had no answers.
“Me?” Mohammed said.
“Yeah, you,” Russo said.
“Maybe they [complaining customers] don’t speak English,” Mohammed said.
“We have videotape of you talking to people in English,” Russo responded.
The Department of Consumer Affairs said it will investigate the matter.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
I've not read any of his original writings yet, though of course I've read articles that make reference to him and his economic theories and proposals. "The Wealth of Nations" is on my bucket list.
May I ask why you ask?
The other day I paid $9.50 for a small bag of cherries that had no marked price. I suspected I was going to be gouged, and I was. Whose fault? Mine.
I dunno, man. On some of the city hotdogs I've eaten, vermin as a condiment would improve the flavor.
Years ago I bought a sausage & pepper sandwich for $8 at a flea market (where empanadas are 2/$3 and hot dogs 3/$5); last time I ordered something without knowing the price beforehand. Lesson learned; now I know why there was no line at that stand...
NYC is the same place where they had to set a flat fee from Manhattan to Kennedy Airport because so many tourists were getting raped (financially) by cabbies (again, targeting foreigners).
In Zurich, that would be the prevailing price.
And who were the dummies that paid that price?
The issue isn’t the prices, you can charge whatever you want. However, it seems the law says they have to post their prices so that everyone gets charged the same price, that’s where he was crossing the line.
There is a hot dog place in my neighborhood that sells a $199 hot dog, called the “Capitalist Pig”... however that hot dog comes with a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue, so it probably doesn’t qualify.
RE: The NYC street vendor charging $30 for a hot dog and drink
Come to Flushing, NY ( which is part of NYC ) and I know a vendor who will charge you just $2,00 for a hot dog and soda.
For those who know Flushing, his stand is just beside the historic St. George Church.
that doesn’t mean you won’t get your throat slit though now does it???
p.s. i think the operative word in what you posted is “permitted” or allowed, meaning not every DAV can do it when and where they please
Disabled veterans are required to abide by local licensing requirements for vendors, as provided in General Business Law § 35.[9] However, time, place, and manner restrictions have been found to violate § 32.[10] The General Business Law does not preempt the Vehicle and Traffic Law, section 1157, which prohibits peddling from a parked motor vehicle.[11]
On non-restricted streets, there is no limit to the number of disabled veteran street vendors that can operate in a given area.[12] On restricted streets in Midtown Manhattan only one may operate; outside of Midtown, two.[12]
For example, some areas would otherwise be off limits to street vendors entirely because they would either be ticketed for being too far from the curb or obstructing a bus or taxi stop.[1] Such is the case in the plaza outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art—”the most coveted location for selling a hot dog in New York”, for which a company called New York One has paid the city $575,990/year since 2007 to operate two carts—where the city began to crack down on veteran vendors in August 2009.[1] New York One was able to negotiate their rent down to $364,672 for 2007 due to the competition from veteran vendors, and later ended its contract early; the winner of the auction to succeed New York One was later evicted for non-payment.[1]
Some vendors have alleged that their competitors merely hire veterans to sit near their carts, a practice lawyers for the city say would not qualify under the law.[1]
There might be a cultural side to this, too. I know a few people who came from the Middle East, and they all told me the same thing about how retail sales work in the U.S. They all said that the entire concept of posting a fixed price on an item for purchase was completely alien to them until they came to the U.S. Apparently there are no posted prices in some of these cultures. The price of an item is whatever the seller and the buyer agree on, and they spend plenty of time haggling over it.
Highly doubtful. It's New York City. They'll tax you just for breathing their foul air.
See post #18.
Free enterprise—the American Way.
I wonder if other primitive cultures still barter (trade items) for merchandise? Perhaps they should have offered the guy a chicken or a goat for the dog.
Will the towelhead be fined?
The problem isn’t the price so much as it is not a consistent price for everyone. A sign clearly stating the price for a hot dog, pretzel, etc should be posted. Folks can charge whatever they want as long as it is posted and consistent.
——They all said that the entire concept of posting a fixed price on an item for purchase was completely alien to them until they came to the U.S. ——
I spent many years dealing with such people in the retail world selling soft drinks...I could tell you stories for hours...
The newly minted immigrants from Syria, Palis, etc..think every transaction is open to negotiation...
More than once, my personnel would call me telling me after the order was delivered and merchandised, they were only willing to pay a certain amount...like 10% less...
After telling them the police are on their way to arrest them for theft and I was pulling all my equipment, and would NEVER sell them another case of soda...
It was amazing how fast they paid their invoice in the full amount....
Great story!
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