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Last hurrah for famed 'soccer tacos'?

By Magdalene Perez | Special to amNewYork

August 15, 2007

Every summer for more than 30 years, Yolando Ceron has pitched a tent by the Red Hook ball fields and sold authentic Colombian dishes, from smoked sausages to deep fried stuffed potatoes.

"They're unbelievable. Nature's perfect food," said Steven Goodman, 56, a stuffed-potato fan who has been coming to eat at the soccer fields for about eight years.

Long one of Brooklyn's best-kept secrets, the tacos, ceviche and empanadas sold by a dozen Latin American vendors on Bay Street today draw food lovers from across the city.

So foodies were shocked this summer when city officials announced the vendors' permits would not be renewed pending open bidding for the concession space. Open bidding would make renting too expensive for the taco sellers, advocates claimed.

Now, that secret has managed to get to the Department of Health, which for the first time is regulating the stands and is making demands that some vendors feel could seal their demise as early as this weekend.

The saga began earlier this summer, when taco lovers became activists overnight, creating a blog named "Save Soccer Tacos" to rally support for the vendors, and politicians and other bloggers joined the cause.

Food lovers soon scored a victory: the Department of Parks and Recreation agreed to allow the vendors to operate until Oct. 28, the end of the soccer season.

But the health department's interest is putting the heat on again, now that the city has announced a list of food-safety requirements and spot inspections this month.

Vendors must supply hot and cold running water, make pre-prepared food in commercial kitchens, and refrigerate foods, among other requirements, by Saturday, according to the department.

The city has been cooperative with the taco makers, and has offered to help them apply for mobile vending licenses and complete food safety training, said Cesar Fuentes, director of the Food Vendors Committee of Red Hook Park.

Already three portable water units have been set up on opposite sides of the field. About 40 percent of the 13 vendors currently have a food license, Fuentes said.

"We're doing the best we can to be compliant in the shortest amount of time possible," Fuentes said. "But right now we're not even sure if people will be able to sell next week."

Meeting all the Health Department's regulations would require "a substantial investment," Fuentes said. And vendors are worried if they will be able to implement the changes.

"It's impossible to have a refrigerator in every tent," said Reina Carrillo, 35, a vendor who invests $700 a week to sell tacos and homemade fruit drinks.

The Red Hook taco tradition goes back nearly 40 years, when families and friends began bringing homemade food to watch Guatemalan soccer players on the field, according to the New York food blog, The Porkchop Express.

The family-operated businesses began officially renting space during the Giuliani administration and have been represented by Fuentes since 2000.

Long-time devotees of the taco sellers suspect the city's crackdown comes in the face of increased gentrification.

"These people have been coming here for many years," Goodman said. "They've been here through thick and thin."

For now, New Yorkers are still pouring onto the fields to buy goat tacos, grilled corn and other authentic foods. Last Sunday, people waited in 30 deep to buy tacos at the most popular stands.

"I don't worry," said Mary Long, referring to the food's safety. She buys fresh fruit and tacos once a week while her 11-year-old plays soccer in the field.

"Everything's fresh," Long said. "It's so delicious."