Dan Rossi, the man known as New York’s “hot dog king”, has operated a food cart outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art for more than a decade. But now he’s fighting to keep his signature and he’s asking you to help him.
in a new petition launched by his daughter, the 73-year-old disabled veteran says he faces repeated hectoring from health department officials and now risks losing his coveted spot in front of the Met’s famous steps. The city first told him he could stay in its long-standing territory – which has been a source of fierce competition among vendors – but then “backed off”, according to the petition, and is now asking him to operate the cart 24/7 in order to stay.
As a result, he had to sleep in his van every night to avoid being forced to leave New York’s Museum Mile, even though he has the necessary permits to go there.
“Because the health department has failed to enforce their own laws regarding illegal selling, my dad has been sleeping in his van for 11 years in order to protect his outlet,” Rossi’s daughter wrote, Danielle Machado, in the petition. “Unlike many Fifth Avenue vendors, my father has the legal permits required to operate a food cart.”
Machado explained that, “after being informed [Rossi] could occupy its retail space in front of the Met, the health department backtracked on its statement. They now force him to work in his stroller 24/7.”
“No other food cart owner is obligated to do this,” Machado said. “It is unfair!”
The petition calls on Mayor Eric Adams and Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan to “equitably enforce their health codes across the board.” Launched a month ago, it already has more than 32,000 signatures.
@nyhotdogs The Hot Dog King has been arrested! We knew it was only a matter of time before they started harassing us after his book came out and with all the excitement and publicity of New York Nico’s message. They said he had abandoned the carts. It’s wrong. Carts have not been abandoned. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS VIDEO! #nycfood #nyhotdogs #NYTimes #munchies #netflix #hony #newyorknico #nyclife ♬ Hot Dog King – The Burner Group
It’s no exaggeration to think that each of these endorsers enjoyed one of Rossi’s famous frankfurters at some point. He started his food cart business in the 1980s and has been a fixture on the streets of Manhattan ever since, peddling who knows how many thousands of dogs during that time.
Recent years – and Rossi’s resilience during pandemic shutdowns, in particular – have only cemented his status as a cult hero. Media coverage has also helped: since 2020, it has been featured by numerous publications, including the New York Timesand last year he appeared on the Netflix series Street food in the United States.
Last fall, Rossi self-published a memoir, New York’s King of Hot Dogs: From Ragged to Rich to Less Ragged. The book details his childhood in the Bronx and two stints in the Marines during the Vietnam War, among other early experiences. But the bulk of the memoir is set in the 1990s, when Rossi’s fight against the then property developer Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani, who at the time were pushing for a bill that would prevent disabled veterans from selling merchandise in midtown Manhattan near the site of Trump Tower.
“People ask me how I became known as the hot dog guy who sleeps in my van to guard my hot dog cart outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but they don’t know me and how I got there there,” Rossi said in a statement on his book in 2022. “What Trump and Giuliani are doing to this country is exactly what they did to me.”
“I was the only man who stood alone against money, power and political influence,” Rossi added. “I saved the vets but I couldn’t save myself.”
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