A disabled US Army veteran and longtime food cart vendor has filed an $8 million lawsuit against NYC, alleging false arrest while attempting to earn a living, according to court documents.
The incident
Armando Crescenzi, a food vendor, was arrested and issued a summons for “unlawful vending” in February while operating his cart on West 34th Street and Broadway. The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court last week challenges this arrest. “It’s very basic,” said his attorney, Gary Fish. “He wants to make a living and the police are interfering with that.”
Dismissal and legal context
An administrative court dismissed Crescenzi’s case in April. Fish argued that police are excessively issuing summonses to disabled veterans working as food vendors, despite these vendors receiving special privileges from the state. “The police are handing out these summons like candy,” Fish said, “and invariably, these cases get dismissed in court.” Disabled military veterans, as a protected class, are granted “absolute blanket protection” to operate as vendors where they choose under an 80-year-old state general business law. Fish likened this protection to a “get out of jail free card.”
Purpose of the lawsuit
Crescenzi’s lawsuit aims to ensure that police officers understand the law and cease harassing the city’s hard-working disabled military veterans. Fish emphasized that police ignorance of the legal privileges given to these veterans is a significant issue.
“There is an element of egregiousness inherent in each and every summons that’s issued,” Fish said. “The police have been on notice for quite some time,” he told The Post. “These disabled American military veterans have an absolute right to vend.”
Crescenzi, a Gulf War veteran, declined to be interviewed, but his case underscores the ongoing struggles faced by disabled veterans in their efforts to make a living.
City officials have not responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit. The lawsuit filed by Armando Crescenzi highlights the need for greater awareness and adherence to laws protecting disabled veterans’ rights to work as vendors. It also brings to light the broader issue of police practices and the treatment of veterans striving to support themselves.