Hi there

I am a new comer to Yo Venice , but certainly not a newcomer to AK. My store Neptina is approaching it's 14th year here. I have seen so much come and go and I have watched the first Friday event blown up with incredible attendance this last year. Personally I dont feel a my glass store and the huge crowds … often with a pretty high alcohol content would be a good mix in my establishment, but the merchants who stay open seem to thrive and as always, I wish them much success. And yes I too have dealt with the food trucks, cleaned their messes, handled the ridiculous parking situation,etc, but this last Friday four young individuals around midnight were playing in front my shop and one takes a beer bottle and throws it at my truck denting the roof and hood. I have it all on my security DVD which i will be posting online). I had the police come out; They did nothing.  I will put up with a lot for the love of my street… and have all these years, but I refuse to just sit back and be okay with this. Anyone have any ideas?

This is so sad. Sad for two reasons.

First, regardless of how hip the nouveau food trucks are they're still just opportunists exploiting the popularity of the FF event on AK and in turn spoil the very nature of the event which was concieved to promote the tenant- brick and mortar business's on that street. Those merchants need all the help they can get and their generosity and good will is getting crapped on by the roach coaches.

Second, the law of unintended consequences has kicked in and people who are ejoying the warmth and hospitality of the local merchants are crapping all over the place by littering!

If I owned one of those business's on AK I'd be livid.

i think they should close the street down on First Fridays, so vehicles (and trucks) can't get through.  it'll give people more room to walk and also alleviate the truck (and trash) problem.  just an idea and just my opinion…

The food trucks need to regulate themselves, or the city will do it for them.  I contacted a few of the vendors that operate the food trucks to talk to them about the trash left out.  The people I talked to were appalled at the disrespectful way some trucks left their spot on Abbot Kinney and assured me that they took extra time to clean up after themselves.  I am curious to know which trucks left the messes (if anyone knows).  By identifying the offenders, we, as a community, can put pressure on the AK business owners to avoid giving bathroom letters to said offenders.  

I personally like having some street food options.  They're operating costs are lower so they can provide quality foods at a cheaper price.  No frills food is an attractive option for those not needing the sit down atmosphere of Hal's.  That being said, 17 trucks seems a bit much to me on a First Friday.  Hopefully, the truck vendors will get themselves straightened out before the city has to do it for them.  

The city passed an ordinance to make trucks move every 30-60 minutes (residential or commercial respectively).  This ordinance was overturned because: "Local authorities may regulate vehicles for public safety reasons, The way this ordinance was structured did not promote public safety. Having the vendor move every 30 to 60 minutes caused more traffic congestion. There was also a health risk because cooked food has to be kept at a certain temperature. Forcing the trucks, which carried hot oil, to move frequently wasn't safe for either the vendor or the public."

 http://www.today.ucla.edu/port…..96061.aspx

indprod said:I love the food trucks.  I think they bring a lot ot the neighborhood, and if it means that we have to clean up after them, big deal.  I think the food trucks are a perfect addition to Venice – cheap, hip, multi-cultural, exciting, cutting-edge.  That's what makes Venice Venice.  Insisting that they pay huge licensing fees is something that Santa Monica would do. 

Which one do you own?