As there is more coverage of things like the city council meeting in Worcester more people will realize they can't just go out in public and say shit like this without becoming laughing stocks.

Dudes got a point though. I mean you guys all heard about the cigarette butt propane explosion epidemic in Albuquerque last year right?

RIGHT???????

capitalism at its worst

As a new Main Street business owner I plan to voice my opinion strongly and publicly (against the ordinance) on the 8th. I encourage any concerned Worcester citizens to do the same. I have two locations on main street which will both be selling food so hopefully my voice will have at least some weight.

I am going to setup my mechanical bull / stripper poll cart in front of the Salty Dog.

It's a waste of taxpayer's money as well as our cities time and energy just to go through this whole dumb process. If people want to sell hot dogs and flowers out of a damn cart, just let them. Get the permits, fire up your propane and go.

If this was a realistic problem, why is there a Sabrett's stand on every possible corner of NYC in front of the worlds finest restaurants?

Worcester, try to at least pretend you are a city.

I am no kind of business major but I have always kind of thought a few things. Vibrancy attracts people. People attract people. The more people the the better chance of them being within shouting distance of your establishment. At that point it is on you as a business owner to get them to come into your establishment and give you money.

Worcester is a numbers game as is just about everything. Most things that hinder vibrancy in our urban core are a huge problem and the motivations behind hindering that vibrancy need to be seriously examined.

I don’t blame some of the cafés on main street not wanting a hotdog cart right in front of their business.. fuck, it’s not like they get any business or are even open on the weekends because of it. And if I’m counting on the ‘work lunch crowd’ to come in and get one of my sandwiches and there’s a hotdog cart outside of course I’m not going to be happy.
$0.02. Thank you.

That would be fantastic.

Hey guys,

We just threw up a digested version of the street hawker debate from Tuesday night. The propane comment is still there.

Worcesteria

Really?
Hot dog carts are the new anti-business business?
The number of hawkers and peddlers in a city's cultural/entertainment/business areas are generally the barometer by which most visitors evaluate the vitality of a district. If you see people walking around with grilled, fried or steamed foodstuffs, lots of lights and inviting pedestrian areas they are more likely to stop, spend some time and, most importantly, spend some money.

Where can a gal get a killer Falafel? They have amazing ones on the carts in NYC...I tried the Sahara but honestly wasn't impressed.

For the record, I love these carts and think that any restaurant that is threatened by a cart with a few quick bites may want to take some time to really revamp their business plan.

for falafel try the place downtown on Pleasant St..west of Tammany on the same side...almost across from La Salvadorena. Cant remember the name.

Bay State Bakery on Water St (under $4 before tax), or Shiraz on Park Ave.

maybe el basha, though I'm just guessing.

yup, it is Emelias Im thinking of...thanks

Annnnd... it came to a vote last night. Apparently, commerce and community are not welcome here in the Woo. We want to stay anti-social and poor, thank you very much.

Rick Rushton and Gary Rosen tried, really, but vendors apparently can no longer be within 250 feet of a restaurant. Even though we can have a second restaurant sharing a wall with the first... but hey.

Also, there's a blackout period between midnight and 5am.

And apparently, vendors don't pay taxes.

Other gems from the conversation are (pulled from the blog):
Paul Clancy (my councillor, already emailed him!) doesn't want to support the amendments because they're incoherent, as you can see:
1. Rushton wants to change midnight to 2:30am
2. He wants to change abutters+250 feet to abutters+50–and only then during the hours they’re open for operation
3. He wants to add in a clause that would allow a vendor to apply for specific times of day they want to be open

Palmieri (dunno what his first name is, haven't investigated, sorry), after complaining about how much of a waste of time discussing "all four" vendors were, said that the “things Generation X are advocating for…city on the move…letting their hair down” are “problems.”

So... who's in Palmieri's district? Please keep your hair up and stay put in one place... to do otherwise is clearly causing issues. I suggest all us troublemaking Gen Xers tie up our hair in pretty ribbons and sit outside Palmieri's office for a few days advocating commerce and community, let's see what he thinks.

http://worcesteria.wordpress.com/

Just in case anyone isn't completely familiar with Worcester politics, Phil Palmieri's district (District 2) includes Downtown, North Main, Shrewsbury St and the Canal District.

Does anyone see a conflict of interest in Phil's beliefs vs what is going on in 4 of the neighborhoods he represents?

Can anyone say HUGE problem?

we need to vote these knuckleheads out.

FWIW, audio + video of yesterday's Public Safety meeting about vendors:
http://worcesteractivist.org/wiki/City_Council_Public_Safety_Committee_Meeting%2C_2008-08-12

May take a few hours for the video to show up.

Hoping to get the first half of the main Council meeting up as well (didn't get a recording of the whole thing, alas).

All due respect Duncan, but aren't all of "these people" in your Party? I may be wrong, but I thought you were a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. Believe me, the rest of us have been trying to vote "them" out for decades.

There is a Party that opposes ridiculous and arbitrary restrictions on free-enterprise. I don't remember a hotdog liberation plank being in our last platform, though.
Sadly, the MA Republican Party has been sucking on the political tailpipe for as long as either of us have been alive. That ain't gonna change any time soon, either.

Political parties are entirely a construct of the free will of the voters. Railing against political parties is railing against allowing your fellow citizens the right to express their opinion through their votes.
Worcester, of course, is a one-Party town, but within the Dem Party there must be at least a few people who still believe in individual freedom, free enterprise, etc.
As far as sweeping the City Council out of office en masse is concerned, the pols have an insidious institutional advantage (the huge number of people on the public payroll/dole who have personal financial motivations to retain the status quo) that makes it all but impossible. Of course, the fact that pretty much nobody (is it even 20-30%?) bothers to vote is the reason that such a small % of Worcester residents can make the rules for everyone else.
I believe Worcester may be too far gone for any meaningful political change to take place until the whole City goes into receivership and requires Federal intervention/bailout.

Chris, 90% of EVERY audience in MA is Liberals. Just as 90% of political offices are held by Liberals. The core principles of Liberalism (shifting responsibilities/rights/money to the government) versus the core principles of Conservatism (free enterprise, capitalism, etc) are not what fuel the debates in this burg.
The only principles that come into play in disputes like this are the ones that have characterized the Worm for decades (cronyism, fear of change, institutional inertia, tax-grabs, "grease", etc.).

I read the T&G article but I haven't listened to/watched the video so maybe I should already know this, but I'll ask anyway. Are the vendors required to move their carts every 5 minutes? That was (is?) the stupidest part of this whole regulation scheme. Hopefully it got nixed.

Hot dog? Simple.

Bun. slice o' cheez. dog. chili sauce. 4-5 jalepenos along length on top.

Eat.

Repeat.

my God, it's beautiful.

Mustard and sliced pepperoncini's. I discovered last year that they sell the pepperoncinis already sliced in the jar. Best invention since sliced bread.

Don't get too liberal with those toppings as 90% of liberal toppings will destroy America(TM).

Nope...fixed vendors can apply to the DPW for clearance and remain in one spot. The same as the Boston ordinance.

My favorites...
....Chicago style....beef dog on a steamed poppy seed bun with onions, tomato, mustard, relish, hot peppers, a dill pickle, and celery salt
....or Chilean...tomato, onion, avocado and mayo

Emily, it's not about me labeling people, I'm just telling you how they label themselves.
I think Lukes might be the closest thing to a Conservative in City Hall (am I forgetting someone? I think I remember a guy who ran/won as a Repub. a few years back), but virtually every politician in the city proudly stamps a big honking "D" next to their name on the ballot/campaign signs, etc.
Besides, if you don't understand the underlying philosophies of the people running the process you have no way of knowing why they are singling out certain issues to address while ignoring others. I don't think ANYONE on either side of this issue thinks that it's the most important thing on Worcester's plate, and yet there they all were. A combination of self-interest and the aforementioned underlying philosophies are what drive the engines of our City government.
Neither "Democrat" nor "Republican" are dirty words, despite what many people would like you to think.