Approximately 30 licensed Department of Parks concessionaires and their employees will protest the so-called “rent-a-vet” abuse at 1:00 pm on Thursday, June 2nd across the street from the main entrance of the Museum of Natural History on Central Park West. No less than a dozen pushcarts claiming disabled veteran protection are selling hot dogs and beverages in and around Central Park, and costing the city millions in revenue. The owners of these carts have discovered that it is far cheaper to hire “rent-a-vets,” thus affording them protection under an antiquated 19th century law, than to pay the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation rent.

The rent-a-vet carts set-up in close proximity to locations either occupied, or once occupied by Parks concessionaires, who must bid to win their locations. Those who compete with rent-a-vets are at an enormous disadvantage. Many are on the verge of default. A typical food cart in Central Park pays nearly a million dollars in rent to Parks over a five-year period, versus the rent-a-vet carts that pay nothing. As a result, the City has had to abandon many lucrative locations where rent-a-vets have scared away potential bidders. “I work with Parks for many years,” said Parks concessionaire Ranjit Dev. “I pay rent, I pay tax, I pay employee. A veteran cart sets up next to me, and the City does nothing. This is not fair. They let veteran carts work, but there is no veteran inside.”

“This is abuse, pure and simple,” said Cliff Stanton, a pushcart commissary owner who wholesales to legal Parks vendors. “We honor the sacrifice of all veterans, but when hucksters rent-a-vet so they can make a profit at the expense of honest, hard-working business people, it’s flat out reprehensible. The City knows full well that these vets have nothing to do with the operation of the cart, but it lacks the political will to do anything about it.”

On Thursday, Stanton will demonstrate that many of the veteran carts don’t have a vet present. He described the scam as follows: “One guy owns the cart, another one holds the DOH permit, a third one serves the food, while the so-called disabled veteran takes a nap on a nearby bench. It’s an illegal operation and it’s putting my customers, who play by the rules, out of business.” Pasang Sherpa, once a Parks concessionaire, who was put out of business by rent-a-vet carts himself, and defaulted on a $642,000 city contract in the process, has now joined the passel of illegal carts on Central Park West.

Several media outlets exposed the abuse last year, when there was an explosion of veteran carts in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The City was able to move out all but one veteran cart from the MET, but they re-emerged days later in front of the Museum of Natural History.