Mets Beer Vendor, 85, Strikes Out in Age Bias Suit
Kate Lord
The judge didn't swing at Block's pitch.
An 85-year-old New Jersey woman who spent more than a decade manning a beer stand at Mets games cried foul when her employer, Aramark, booted her from her profitable stand during the last season at Shea Stadium and replaced her with a younger woman.
A judge tossed Mildred Block's lawsuit yesterday, however, on the grounds that her replacement – 75-year-old Gloria Smith – indicated the concession company did not discriminate against Block based on her age.
Block disagrees. She spent nearly 20 years working the stand near right field, where she says she could earn up to $40 per day. Then Aramark moved her to another stand, where she claims the tips were pittance by comparison.
"Everyone was like, 'Mildred, what happened?" Block told the Daily News. "I worked there so many years, and I think I'm an excellent worker."
Aramark declined the News' requests for comments, but in court papers said that patrons registered complaints about long lines at the stand where Block labored.
Block, who still works for Aramark at the new Citi Field, blamed the lines on her decades-younger partner, saying she couldn't give customers change any faster than he could pour the beer, reports the News.
