Melissa Bailey Photo
After his brother pulled out a gun amid a turf war on Long Wharf, Jose Ortiz, Jr. is preparing to see his family food cart put to rest.
Ortiz (at right in photo with his son, Jose Ortiz III) runs Lechonera La Unica food cart on Long Wharf. He was one of three men arrested Sunday after a dispute over territory. Carlos Espada-Maldonado, owner of La Pinchera food cart, threatened Ortiz with a knife; Jose’s brother Carlos answered by pulling out a gun, according to police. No one was injured in the fight, but a city official said both businesses will be hurt by the fallout.
City building chief Andy Rizzo said he plans to send out letters Friday revoking the vending licenses of both food carts. Both sell Puerto Rican food on a busy strip of taco trucks by the New Haven Harbor’s shore. Rizzo said police asked him to yank the permits after Sunday’s dispute.
“This is pretty serious,” said Rizzo. “You can’t be out there pulling knives and guns on people.”
Selling food on Long Wharf is a privilege allowed through the city permit process, not a right, he said. Rizzo said he intends to send the revocation letters out Friday via a state marshal. Until then, the carts are permitted to keep operating.
On Thursday, the Ortiz family took the opportunity to spend the sunny afternoon serving up specialties of their native Puerto Rico, roasted pork and rotisserie chicken. The menu showed bright palm trees, and a mirror below it reflected the glittering water of the harbor. Jose Ortiz stepped out of the truck in a white apron and hair net. In a calm, resigned voice, he recounted how he came to be on the brink of losing his family business.
Ortiz, who’s 37, runs the food cart with his father and his son, all three of the same name. They all live together on Fair Haven’s East Pearl Street, in a two-family house they converted into “one big, one-family home.” He formed the business three years ago. He first set up in Criscuolo Park, near home plate of the Puerto Rican softball league. When the league played, they did good business, he said. At the time, selling food was a side gig.
This year, after Ortiz lost his other job, he decided to expand the business and sell food full time. In February, he was granted a city permit to move his truck to Long Wharf. He was assigned to Lot 8, a few car lengths away from the park’s iconic flag truck. Ortiz first opened shop there about two months ago, he said. He sold food from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The new location proved to be much better money — especially on Sundays, when an out-of-town crowd swings by the strip of Latino food carts after hitting the flea market on the Ella Grasso Boulevard.
But from the beginning, there was trouble.
Until Ortiz opened shop, Carlos Espada-Maldonado ran the only Puerto Rican cart along the busy row. His cart, La Pinchera, is Spanish for shish kebab. He sold them for several years, next to the Mexican taco trucks.
Espada-Maldonado didn’t take kindly to his new neighbors. He wanted to be the only Puerto Rican food-seller on the strip, according to Ortiz.
Despite what Ortiz’s permit said, Carlos Espada-Maldonado claimed Lot 8 as his turf. Ortiz said he didn’t mind: He offered to switch lots with Espada-Maldonado, who was assigned to Lot 7. But Espada-Maldonado insisted on planting his truck between the two, he said. So they parked next to each other, even though city permits had placed them 50 feet apart.
Ortiz said Espada-Maldonado tried to bring him down by calling the health department on his neighbors. Ortiz said he passed a health inspection and moved on with life.
The dispute kept escalating.
Last Friday, it hit a breaking point when an employee at La Pinchera pulled out a knife on his neighboring food truck workers, according to Ortiz.
On Sunday, Ortiz showed up to Long Wharf and found Espada-Maldonado “waiting for me.”
Espada-Maldonado approached Ortiz and pulled out a kitchen knife, according to a police report. Ortiz’s older brother Carlos saw the knife. He walked over and pulled out a silver .38 caliber handgun from his waistband.
Jose Ortiz said his brother didn’t point the gun at anyone: He just showed it, and the fight was over. No one was hurt.
Soon after, the cops swept in and arrested all three men. Carlos Ortiz had a permit for this gun, but police took it away after he wielded it against his neighbor. Jose Ortiz was charged with second-degree breach of peace and was released after posting a $2,500 bond.
Police charged his brother with breach of peace and threatening in the second degree and first-degree reckless endangerment. Carlos Espada-Maldonado was issued the first two of those three misdemeanor charges. They were released after posting $10,000 and $5,000 bonds respectively.
The three men are due to be arraigned in Superior Court on Tuesday and Thursday.
On sunny Thursday just after noon, a few patrons lined up at Lechonera La Unica, where a Puerto Rican flag flew in the shoreline breeze. La Pinchera was nowhere to be seen. Ortiz said his neighbor hasn’t been back since Sunday’s incident. Espada-Maldonado couldn’t be reached for comment for this story.
Jose Ortiz said he regrets his brother’s hotheaded action and the likely demise of his family business. Before Sunday, he had been planning to open a second food truck, which his father would run at Criscuolo Park in time for softball season.
Building chief Rizzo said after police alerted him to Sunday’s incident, he had three options for discipline: “I could suspend, revoke or take away their privileges at Long Wharf.” He said Sgt. Richard Miller, the district manager for Hill South, recommended revocation.
Once a vending license is revoked, the food truck can’t sell anywhere in the city, Rizzo said. Vendors do have the right to appeal. They can also reapply for a permit later down the road, but police conduct a background check as part of the application process, so chances of approval would be unlikely, Rizzo said.
Ortiz said he’s not sure what the future holds.
“We’ll probably lose the permit to be here,” he said. “Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.
“We’re trying to make a living. Hopefully we both get one more chance.”
Why was Sgt. Miller pushing for revocation? Suspension seems to be a fair punishment along with a caveat that both trucks remain 50 feet apart at all times.