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: 5092
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, sure, if they're all playing under the same set of rules. Was that the case here?

Uh...NO seven year-old in his wildest dreams sets up that kind of Little Rascals type of signage and commercial operation.

I find the fake "kiddie writing" on the sign insulting. This entire story is theater. But then the MSM loves another "I'M-A-VICTIM!!" story that involved children. And bad ol' cops!

WHY humor yet one more attention ho-ing by narcissistic, self-entitled parent exploiting kids for a lawsuit? And a LIE?

Let's stop contributing to the "I-WUZ-WRONGED!" delusion and war against cops and laws with BS crusades designed to demonize LE and Common Sense.

A spontaneous, REAL kiddie lemonade stand are set up in front of a house that Mommy "helps" to a minimal degree by supplying the table, cups, and the Koo-lade & sugar.

Exactly. Not set up near the fairgrounds during an event, competing with the vendors inside.

Yeah - the kid should have gone a mile or two away instead of selling lemonade FROM HIS OWN FRONT PORCH.

I'm just sayin' that this wasn't some run-of-the-mill lemonade stand run by a 7-year-old. He set it up across the street from the fairgrounds where an event was being held. The vendors inside complained and I don't blame them.

And it's mere coincidence that he set up his lemonade stand on the very same days as an event at the fairgrounds ACROSS THE STREET.

Well, he tried before setting one up in December, but found out that no one wanted to buy ice cold lemonade when the temperatures were in the 20's.