LF: New York state shuts down boy's lemonade stand, citing need for permit

Title: New York state shuts down boy's lemonade stand, citing need for permit
Source: The Hill
URL Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brief ... lemonade-stand-citing-need-for
Published: Jul 31, 2018
Author: Aris Folley
Post Date: 2018-08-01 07:34:43 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 5066
Comments: 31

The New York State Health Department reportedly shut down a 7-year-old boy’s lemonade stand because his family didn’t have a permit.

Brendan Mulvaney’s makeshift stand was located just outside the Saratoga County Fair in upstate New York, where a group of vendors reportedly made complaints to a state health official doing a routine inspection of the fair about the young competition, according to the New York Post.

The inspector then made a visit to the lemonade stand, where he reportedly ordered the family to shut down the operation.

“We didn’t think that we needed [a permit], we didn’t know that we needed one,” the young boy’s mother, Jodi Mulvaney, told the Post. “It didn’t even cross our minds.”

Local authorities told the outlet it was unusual for the state's health department to be regulating lemonade stands.

The agency issued a public apology to the 7-year-old “for any inconvenience.”

“We are working to better understand the situation but in the meantime want to assure the community that [the health department] does not issue permits for or oversee lemonade stands,” a spokeswoman for the agency, Jill Montag, told the Albany Times Union.

But according to the Post, the agency reversed its stance hours later and said a permit was definitely required for the young boy’s front porch stand.

"We have zero interest in shutting down a boy's lemonade stand or regulating lemonade stands," spokesman Gary Holmes said to the Times Union. "We also don't want to pick a fight with the family. We want to put all the vendors on a level playing field."

Sean Mulvaney, the young boy’s father, fumed to the local publication: “Yesterday, they issue an apology and today I need a permit.”

Holmes added that the permit needed costs $30 and that the agency would expedite any paperwork from the young boy’s family.

State Sen. Jim Tedisco (R) visited Brendan Mulvaney's stand on Sunday and called for the state to stay out of the young boy’s business.

“There’s nothing that says America more than apple pie and kids running lemonade stands,” Tedisco said in a statement to the Times Union. “What has our state government come to?”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) also reached out to the family and said he reached a resolution with the Mulvaneys to ensure the lemonade stand can continue to operate.

"Today I directed the Department of Health to reach a resolution with the Mulvaney family to ensure that Brendan's Lemonade Stand can continue to operate," Cuomo said in a statement. "If a permit is needed, I will personally pay for any necessary fees. We support Brendan's entrepreneurial spirit and wish him the best of luck."

... a group of vendors reportedly made complaints to a state health official doing a routine inspection...

"We also don't want to pick a fight with the family. We want to put all the vendors on a level playing field."

The vendors (snitches) were reportedly selling their lemonade for $7.00 while some kid wants to make a few bucks selling his much cheaper.

Well, it appears that State Sen Jim Tedisco and Gov Cuomo have displayed some common sense, which is an extremely rare commodity in government !!

This was another example of power tripping pea brained bureaucrats lacking common sense!

King Cuomo sez, "Screw The Law" -- *I* AM THE LAW!!" I guess this BS PR move will help his re-election bid and reinforce his socialist bonafides. This guy has ZERO scruples and respect for businesses who are squeezed by an over-officious state on regs and the law.

Nothing like undermining legit LE, portraying THEM as the Nazis, and rewarding pure theatrics of typical Dem-socialist operations.

(Hmm...WAS this entire operation a Fix to help Select Law-Enforcer Cuomo look like a savior of the Little People??)

Cuomo said in a statement. "If a permit is needed, I will personally pay for any necessary fees. We support Brendan's entrepreneurial spirit and wish him the best of luck."

(Hmm...WAS this entire operation a Fix to help Select Law-Enforcer Cuomo look like a savior of the Little People??)