BREAKING NEWS! Boy Whose Hot Dog Cart Was Shut Down by the City of Holland Now Homeless

Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 8/9/2012 | Anne Schieber

[MichCapCon]

HOLLAND, Mich. — Several weeks after a city zoning officer shut down his hot dog business, 13-year-old Nathan Duszynski and his parents are homeless.

The family was hoping Nathan’s hot dog cart could help them through a difficult time. Nathan’s mother, Lynette Johnson, suffers from epilepsy and his stepfather, Doug Johnson, has multiple sclerosis. Their illnesses have restricted them from finding permanent, full-time work.

The family receives about $1,300 a month in disability payments, Medicaid and food assistance. The three are having a hard time staying together. MLive confirms what the Mackinac Center learned Thursday — Nathan and his mother are staying at the Holland Rescue Mission.

"Nate and I are now in a shelter," Lynette Johnson said. "Doug can't stay with us because he takes prescription narcotics to deal with his pain and the shelter does not allow him with those kinds of drugs."

She said the situation has been stressful on the family. Lynette is afraid to be away from her husband in case she has a seizure.

Nathan wanted to help out his family by selling hot dogs from a cart he bought with money he saved. He worked out an arrangement with the owner of a local sporting goods store to sell hot dogs in the parking lot. The owner of the store thought it would be a great way to attract customers and even offered Nathan a sales commission if he got people to rent his motorized bicycles.

The city of Holland, however, shut down the business 10 minutes after it opened, informing Nathan it was in the city’s commercial district where food carts not connected to downtown brick-and-motor restaurants are prohibited. The Mackinac Center’s coverage of the issue has drawn national attention.

Last week, Nathan and his family made an appeal to the Holland City Council. Mayor Kurt Dykstra defended the city’s ordinance, saying it was to protect downtown restaurant owners, who asked that the "success of the downtown district not be infringed upon by those who don't share in the costs of maintaining the attractiveness of that space."

[sten]

“Socialists shutdown Nathan’s hot dogs”

[Melas]

While I admire and support the boy’s efforts, I personally can’t see anyone buying a hot dog in a parking lot from a 13 year old kid unless it was a “donation for a worthy cause” and the hot dog as lunch for Fido.

Based on that comment alone, I have $50 that says you're not an urbanite. I don't know about Holland, MI, but in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, L.A., etc., customers wouldn't bat an eye.

[Marie]

When I bought my property in Texas, there were two restrictions. I could not operate a dump or a pig farm on my property. I knew that when I signed the papers.

So let’s say that I started breeding piglets and selling them for $30 each. Then, when the county tells me to stop (didn’t fine me, didn’t cite me, just politely tells me that I’m breaking the rules) I cry to the press and start gathering public support because I’m disabled and I’m special and this is the way I make my egg money...

I would never buy property in an HOA because I want autonomy. The private property owner *should* know the rules in the area where he bought the property.

Don’t like the rules? Vote, lobby, petition, etc.

But a family can’t waltz in, do whatever they want and expect special treatment because they’re disabled.

My son is a T-1 diabetic. Nobody’s fault. It’s an autoimmune disease.

He gets NO breaks. No free grants or college money, no help from the gov’t for his medical needs, nothing. And we raised him to not expect them. He can’t join the military (even though it’s his greatest dream and he has actually smoked the Seal challenge multiple times) and he’s had to learn how to deal with that. Fair or not, he’s not special and that restriction applies to him. I’ve encouraged him to lobby congress to change the rule, but not JUST for him.

This family was not cited or fined. They were just told that he had to move the cart. The city offered them multiple locations to operate the cart from and bent over backwards to help them do it right. These people aren’t arguing that the rules are stupid or the the private property owner has the right to invite them to operate a business on his property, they’re arguing that they should be the exception because the parents are disabled.

If my son tried that crap, I’d kick his butt. I’d tell him to start pushing his damn cart down the street a couple of blocks and that he’s better bone up on his salesmanship in order to deal with the competition.

Yes, the Law is an ass.

But don’t use your disability to try to take an advantage. EVERYBODY has a sob story.

[cripplecreek]

Yeah, when this story first hit the news it was clear that he had gotten the permits needed but the dispute arose after the fact.

[wildhog]

This is a local issue reported nationally without proper details or context of Holland's downtown environment. Unlike most towns, Holland's downtown is enviably and extremely bustling and vibrant. Downtown merchants pay apportioned fees for the free parking, snow-melt, sidewalk performers, and the many other amenities drawing huge crowds of local and vacationing people to Holland's downtown. Many transient and seasonal vendors would like to take advantage of this market, without equitably paying the past and current fees creating and providing the infrastructure and environment. If Holland lets this 13-year-old with a hot dog stand and a touching story purvey his product, then the town will have to allow all vendors, or be sued. Not fair to the downtown merchants or to the people that enjoy the downtown planned and protected by the town board. We live in a land in fear of litigation . . . taking an image beating by denying a boy and his hot dog stand pales in comparison to paying millions to lawyers and those they represent.

[cripplecreek]

True enough, we don't have a lot of vendors in this neck of the woods.

I've got a fully prepared concession trailer with a complete kitchen in it (Freezer, fryers, grill etc) sitting in the driveway sealed up like a tomb waiting for the day when the economy makes it worth taking to local events and doing business.



Right now its as dormant as it can be and it still comes with a special tax form that needs to be filled out and returned every year. Activating it will cost the taxes to skyrocket and that's before a single cup of coffee can be made in it. I've got to rent both commercial freeze and kitchen space whether I use them or not. there are health inspections and costs. Then there are new county and state permits needed plus whatever permits are required for specific events. It costs thousands of dollars for a permit to take something like this to a NASCAR track for a weekend.

Unless there is drastic change in this country, the trailer will sit there and rot away as I try to squeak by and fight to avoid taking government help for my own survival.

[Cyber Liberty]

Nice unit. Good condition on the outside. Pity you can’t hook up with a traveling carnival.

[cripplecreek]

Its like new inside because its sealed up tight. I was in there this morning to check for leaks and evidence of mice. In fact when I opened the door there was a partial vacuum.

[Cyber Liberty]

It’d be great at large family reunions. Do you have to get it all permitted if you’re not selling the food? Since you can just park it until needed, I assume it’s paid for which is really cool.

[bjorn14]

You’ve obviously never been to a Home Depot in the Metro DC area.

[cripplecreek]

Yeah I can use it privately any way I want but my family isn’t big enough to drag around for family events.

[Cyber Liberty]

Yeah, my family’s not that large either. But that is a really cool thing to have, provided one knows how to use it. Does it come with a soda fountain?

[LimitedPowers]

Government picking winners and losers.

Government picking wieners and losers.

[cripplecreek]

Does it come with a soda fountain?

Yeah, its pretty much complete. I paid $10 grand cash and if we ever get out from under this cloud of taxation and regulation I think I can make a decent living with it.

[Cyber Liberty]

I bet you could. There a lot of carnival operators that run large, State Fair size operations, then split into a bunch of small carnivals that travel around. It may be more common here, though, because we have a long warm season while everybody else is closed for Winter. Little towns have “Founder’s Day” festivals.

Like you need me to tell you any of this...LOL. But you did get it for a good price if the inside is as nice as the outside. It sucks you have to shell out more thousands before you can sell the first cheeseburger. Makes me wish MIS had more races.