New Castle councilman calls cops on boys' cupcake sale

[The Northerner]

NEW CASTLE — When Andrew DeMarchis and Kevin Graff, two 13-year-olds from Chappaqua's Seven Bridges Middle School, set up shop at Gedney Park on a fall weekend last month, they were expecting a tidy profit.

Instead, the two wannabe entrepreneurs selling cupcakes, cookies, brownies and Rice Krispie treats baked by them for $1 apiece got a taste of cold, hard bureaucracy .

New Castle Councilman Michael Wolfensohn came upon the sale and called the cops on the kids for operating without a license.

The boys' parents are incensed and can't believe a Town Board member would handle the situation that way.

"I am shocked and sad for the boys. It was such a great idea, and they worked hard at it," said Laura Graff, Kevin's mother. "But then some Town Board member decided to get on his high horse and wreck their dreams."

Read more: http://www.lohud.com/article/201011150328

[tabbycat31]

1. This does not surprise me coming from Chappaqua and New Castle

I grew up a town away and remember having a hard time setting up a lemonade stand.

[joeybee12]

2. This guy is a steaming pile of shit...nt

[Maat]

3. +1 (n/t)

[GodlessBiker]

4. It would be a shame if Councilman Wolfensohn got kicked in the nuts over this.

[joeybee12]

21. Even a bigger shame if he got kicked there twice...nt

[Dyler Turden]

5. I hate to read stuff like this.

K&R

[YOY]

6. Oh noes! It's big gubmint...or just a city councilmember being an asshole.

So much easier to call it "big gubmint" though..

[charlie and algernon]

7. heh, good luck getting re-elected after this.

Hopefully the good citizens of New Castle have the decency to kick his ass to the curb during the next election cycle.

[davidinalameda]

8. let the flames begin but I don't feel sorry for the kids

if it were adults doing the same thing without a license, no one would think twice about them getting busted

it was a city owned park; it's not like they were doing it on private property

what would happen if someone got sick from eating the stuff; the city could be liable for any bills or damages

[charlie and algernon]

12. But you have to admit he could've handled it better

He could have walked up to the kids and asked for their parents to explain to them they need a license. If the parents had argued or gotten angry, then it goes on the parents because they had an out and they chose to ignore it. But instead the councilman chose to make it a conflict by getting the police involved. That's all on him.

[redirish28]

19. But in the article I read the coucilman was just fine with it when he thought

this was for charity. Too me it is a double standard.

[jtrockville]

14. I tend to agree. There was a valuable lesson to be learned here.

Hopefully the take-away for these boys is: follow the rules.

[SoCalDem]

27. and there's always the possibility that an adult could be using the kids

to sell food prepared by the adult, to avoid the issue of having a license..

Paula Deen said once on Oprah's show that she used to make sandwiches & lunches & have her BOYS take them into office buildings to sell. She said it was because she was agoraphobic & too depressed to go herself. Luckily for her, the laws were apparently more lax then, and maybe the food was too yummy to complain about too:)

[Xithras]

29. If you read the article, the city was correct to shut them down.

It could have been handled better though.

The problem is that we're not talking about a couple of kids who took some cupcakes to the park one day. They had done this before, and were quite open about their intent to keep doing it for the next several years to make and save some money. They were operating it as a business. Businesses need permits and insurance to sell on public property.

[Quantess]

31. "Unsafe", frightening baked goods.

Seriously though, baked goods are not known to be major disease carriers. Have you ever gotten a food-borne illness from cookies? Didn't think so.

Bake sales are kind of a traditionally accepted practice. People have been doing bake sales since the dawn of time, and besides, these are kids. Boy scouts. It's just a jerk move on the part of this commissioner.

[jtrockville]

33. We do it this way.

When having a "bake sale", we don't call it a "bake sale". We GIVE away the goods and ask for a donation. This alerts potential buyers that the food has not been "sanctioned" yet still allows us to have a fund-raiser.

As you point out, most people don't mind consuming "unsanctioned" goods. Doing it as we do provides disclosure, and allows the consumer to choose whether or not they want to take the risk (however small it may be).

[davidinalameda]

38. how about allergic reactions?

[Quantess]

40. People generally know that they have food allergies, don't they?

For instance, I'm allergic to mangoes, and I make sure to avoid anything that looks like it might have mangoes in it. I would imagine people with peanut allergies are pretty cautious as well.

[gmoney]

32. and I'm sure some adults have their kids "front" for such things

There was a similar story about very young kids, like 5, I think they were selling pumpkins or watermelons or something at a roadside stand, and they were told to stop because they didn't have proper permits, etc.

Now, a 5 year old, however precocious, isn't doing that without SOME help from parents -- and if it were just allowed to let slide because they're "just kids" then who knows how parents would exploit such a loophole. "Oh, my son is running this auto parts store, but he's only 6 so isn't expected to report earnings or pay taxes."

[Odin2005]

35. You want to know why people hate "big government"? BS like this.

Want to drive people into the hands of the GOP? Keep doing nanny-state crap like this.

[marmar]

9. As a former Westchester County resident, this is hardly shocking for Chappaqua

nt

[msanthrope]

13. Me too. Not surprised at all....and this jerk's a Democrat. Disappointing. n/t

[slackmaster]

10. Giant Douche

[HopeHoops]

11. WHY do 13 year old boys HATE AMURKA?

:evilgrin:

Terrist Amurka-hatin' 13-year old Muslim cupcake Nazi's - you can spot them from half-way down the block.

[MattBaggins]

15. THIS IS A FRACKING OUTRAGE

I should be allowed to cook food willy-nilly with eggs and milk past their expiration date. I should be able to unchecked, in my own home, scratch my ass and pick my nose and then bake some cookies for sale to unsuspecting pedestrians. I shouldn't have to be responsible at all for showing any knowledge of any kind about good manufacturing procedures.

Oh the inhumanity.

[superduperfarleft]

18. They're 13-years-old for christ's sake.

You really think the way to handle the equivalent of a lemonade stand is to calling the frickin' cops?

[redirish28]

22. So all bake sales that are ran by schools and charity should be outlawed?

I don't remember seeing an experation date on the homemade bake goods at a school/church. I bought them at a couple months ago

[MattBaggins]

24. You must live in the last spot in America that still allows them.

No bake sales at any schools where I live anymore.

[redirish28]

25. common practice that schools and chruches have bake sales.

make homemade bake goods.

[Xithras]

30. If a school were to open and regularly operate a brownie booth, they'd need a permit.

Again, we're not talking about a one time thing here. They'd done it before, and were open about their intent to operate their food sales table for the next several years.

[redirish28]

16. I loved the part where they said:"But I do understand why parents would think they can do this"

If the park is so dangerous for kids to sell things at maybe it is too dangerous to play at.

[Evasporque]

17. Had they been girls selling cupcakes he would of bought one....nt

[FLPanhandle]

20. Worst...politician...ever! Bill Clinton would have bought and eaten them.

Even if they tasted like shit and were covered in grass clippings.

[DainBramaged]

23. The face of stupid

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?template=zoom&Site=BH&Date=20101115&Category=NEWS02&ArtNo=11150328&Ref=V1


Something tells me he won't get re-elected.

[SoCalDem]

26. Unfortunately, if you are selling "edibles" to the general public,

there are laws that must be followed. It's not personal..it's about food-safety.

Many schools no longer even allow bake-sales anymore..

[Odin2005]

37. Fuck those laws!

When I worked in the kitchen of a preschool we wasted a ton of perfectly good, healthy food because the food regs were so fucking stupid.

[proteus_lives]

28. What a prick!

[Odin2005]

34. Shit like this is what causes people to hate "big government".

FUCK THOSE BUREAUCRATS!!! :grr:

[MrScorpio]

36. Our litigious society and the bureaucracy that came with it has pretty much destroyed American life

R.I.P., Childhood.

[TK421]

39. That would make me grow up bitter and...oh wait, nevermind n/t

[TheWatcher]

41. Kids are in the wrong business. If they were War Criminals or Banksters

they could rape, murder, and loot on live TV and the MOST they could hope to receive is a
sternly worded letter not to do it again.

Well, if they were War Criminals they would get the Medal Of Freedom.

Just goes to show, kids.

Choose your avenue of income Wisely.