NYC councilmember gets 'threatening calls' over ice cream truck gas generator bill, he says

New York City Councilmember Lincoln Restler said his office has been bombarded with “threatening” calls in response to a climate bill he introduced last Thursday that could make ice cream trucks switch to electric or solar-powered generators.

“People have called our office with threatening messages, have said really harmful and awful things to members of my staff,” Restler told Gothamist.

Soon after making the announcement, a handful of conservative-leaning national news outlets, including Fox News, covered the story even though the measure is in committee.

“We welcome critiques of our policies and are always happy to engage with constituents who are acting in good faith, but the vitriol, disrespect and threats directed at hard working public servants in our office is unacceptable,” the councilmember tweeted on Monday.

Firm numbers are hard to find, but Restler said more than 200 ice cream trucks were operating across New York City in 2017 and that one truck alone could create 165 pounds of carbon dioxide per day. That would amount to at least 33,000 pounds of carbon spewing daily into the summer air — roughly the weight of an MTA bus. The trucks' collective presence is also a source of irritation for some New Yorkers because the gas-burning engines produce other forms of air pollution and noise, often near parks and other green spaces.

Residents in DUMBO alone were responsible for thousands of 311 complaints about ice cream trucks in recent years, the Brooklyn Eagle reported. Restler, who represents parts of DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights and Boerum Hill, said he grew up eating ice cream at Pierrepont Park for as many days as his mom and dad would let him. After he grew up and ran for office, multiple residents approached him about the noise and air pollution ice cream trucks generate, he said.

“I like ice cream trucks as much as the next guy,” the councilmember said. “But there are real quality of life concerns that come about from an ice cream truck being stationed on the same block, for 12 or 15 hours, every day, week after week, month after month, for a community.”

Restler’s bill would forbid ice cream trucks from using “a generator or engine that is powered by any carbon-based fuel to provide electrical power for food equipment.” It would take effect three years after becoming law, meaning ice cream truck owners would have that much time to acquire a different generator.

Ben Goldberg, who heads the New York Food Truck Association, which includes roughly 150 ice-cream trucks, said some of his members have already begun experimenting with switching to the new generators. The switch had been expected for some time, he said, since other states like California, have begun cutting down on gas-powered vehicles.

The concern for most of these ice-cream truck operators is the cost. Goldberg estimated that a battery-operated generator could cost up to $10,000.

Goldberg estimated that a battery-operated generator could cost up to $10,000.

“If you have a fleet of ice-cream trucks, or whatever, that can be expensive to get them retro-fitted,” he said. “It’s more a question of how long they would have to phase in, then give themself time to afford these costs.”

But the maintenance costs for these generators is less than traditional ones, meaning it’ll end up being cheaper in the long run, Goldberg said.

Restler said his office is receiving numerous calls from individuals outside of the city – like Florida and Ohio – fueled by media outlets that have “misrepresented the facts to rile people up.”

“There's this idea that we’re encroaching on individual liberties when in fact we’re trying to improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods that we reside,” Restler said.

Rosemary Misdary contributed reporting.