'Operation: Meltdown': New York City Seizes 46 Ice Cream Trucks For Years Of Unpaid Fines, Violations

With summertime creeping up, the ice cream trucks are starting to head out in full force. What sweeter way is there to cool off in the middle of a summer day?

But New York City is going to have fewer trucks out there this summer after a surprising discovery.

An ice cream truck company had 46 of its trucks seized Wednesday after a sting operation into the company’s activities. Titled “Operation: Meltdown,” the trucks were seized due to nearly a decade of traffic violations and ducked fines handed out.

The violations ran from 2009 to 2017, with trucks racking up nearly $4.5 million in traffic fines. The citations included running red lights, parking by fire hydrants, and blocking crosswalks.

As a way of ducking the fines, the truck operators began setting up several shell companies to divert the fines. They also began to de-register trucks at the Department of Motor Vehicles using the names of different companies. After going through this, the city would have no trace of the original fine or citation attached to the original company.

“We all know from common experience that ice cream trucks are magnets for children,” Zachary W. Carter, New York City’s corporation counsel, told media. He continued, “In order to protect this particularly vulnerable category of pedestrians, our traffic laws must be strictly enforced.”

A press release from Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed plans to file lawsuits against the offenders in the sting who owe more than $10,000 in fines.

“No New Yorker is above the law -- especially those who try to ignore public safety laws and create dangerous situations for pedestrians, bikers, and drivers,” de Blasio said in the release.