Food fight!
A battle between halal and hot dog vendors outside City Hall Park today ended with one man bleeding from the head and his elderly attacker under arrest, police and witnesses said.
Halal vendor Jacques Sterlin, 66, was busted for assault after he bashed a vendor foe in the head with a cane at around 12:30 p.m., police said.
The drama unfolded when the victim and his employer, Hristos Serertas, showed up at the plaza pushing a mobile hot dog cart and started selling food and drinks for $1 – vastly undercutting the prices of Sterlin and Carlos Rodriguez, 56, a disabled Vietnam vet who also runs a halal cart.
“$1. $1 here. Everything,” yelled Serertas, who later admitted to not having a license to sell in the park. “These guys are criminals.”
He then accused Rodriguez of extorting money from vendors who want to sell in City Hall Park.
“They’re the halal mafia,” he shouted.
Rodriguez, who operates with special permission due to his military status, quickly shot back.
“This is my spot. Who has the right? Me!”
The half-hour shouting match came to an abrupt end when Sterlin whacked Serertas’ employee, cops and witnesses said.
Sterlin was cuffed and the victim was taken to New York Hospital Downtown with a head injury, said an FDNY spokesman.
After the ruckus wrapped up, Serertas was kicked out of the plaza by Parks Enforcement officers and slapped him with a fine for vending without the proper license.