Topics: Parenting, Money, Food and Drink, Life, New York
The mums and dads of New York are seemingly less than impressed with the prices of their children's sweet treats.
Last year, it was reported that half of working-age households in New York City weren’t making enough money to cover their basic needs.
If you add raising kids, childcare costs and commuting to work via public transport into that, then there’s no wonder many NYC citizens are being priced out.
Unfortunately for many families in the city, it appears ice cream from the local van has become another expensive purchase to add to the list.
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On Tuesday (June 4), parents in Queens were gobsmacked to discover that a waffle cone filled with soft-serve ice cream was a staggering $14 a pop.
Speaking to The New York Post, one disgruntled father explained he and his children wandered over to a New York Ice Cream truck after playing soccer.
The van, set up near Astoria Park, allegedly charged dad-of-two Henry Fernandez $26 for two small ice creams.
“I gave her $20, thinking I was going to get some change back, and then she told me it’s more,” he told the publication. “They got me good!”
Henry claimed he bought one of his children a small sundae while purchasing the other a shake float to cool down.
“Some people are taking advantage of inflation,” he added.
Moreover, some customers have become angry at the way the ice cream van chose to display prices.
It’s said that the details are displayed in a ‘tiny font’ near the truck’s roof.
According to a mother named Alison Bruce, turning her child away after hearing the price of a cone would make for a ‘difficult afternoon’.
She queried whether any parent would like to deny their delighted kid a treat after already making a promise.
It’s alleged that Bruce was one of the unlucky women who reportedly forked out $14 for a waffle cone for her 11-year-old son.
“Can you imagine a family of four getting an ice cream, and it being upwards of $60?.. That’s upsetting.”
According to a representative from the North American Ice Cream Association, these proposed prices are a form of ‘sheer opportunism’.
Steven Christensen said that these businesses are striking while the iron is hot and capitalising on their ‘captive audience'.
He added that much like grocery stores and other food vendors, ice cream vans have been forced to raise their prices due to larger margins.
UNILAD has contacted a representative for New York Ice Cream to gain further clarification on their pricing process.
