City officials in Hoboken want to yank a local businessman's license after he was captured on video shouting anti-immigrant slurs at another man on the street.
The owner of Vape Van, a mobile truck selling vape products, apparently got into an argument with a couple parked behind him, also in a van, on Saturday. Video posted on Facebook picks up with the Vape Van owner shouting things like, "Go back to your [expletive] country," along with slurs.
"You want talk to my boy nasty, so I'm gonna get you mad," the van owner said, apparently defending a friend nearby.
The van owner also shouted Trump's name. It's not clear what led to the dispute.
After the video circulated online, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer condemned the "reprehensible" hate speech and said police were investigating.
She said she's also supporting a local city council motion to revoke the man's license to operate a mobile vendor truck.
The man has since apologized for his remarks, saying in an interview the comments were made in anger and don't reflect his beliefs. He said the dispute was over a parking spot and the other man "got in his face" twice and put his hand in the face of his partner. He added that he's not racist and has two biracial children.
Local
Ravi Bhalla and Ruben Ramos, the councilmen co-sponsoring the resolution to revoke the businessman's license, said, "This conduct has no place in Hoboken. This individual's actions do not reflect the views of businesses or residents in Hoboken."
They're also asking businesses owners to join them in "expressing its embrace of Hoboken as a welcoming and diverse community," calling on them to join the Business Against Bigotry campaign by the American Independent Business Alliance. The campaign offers free window decals reading "We Welcome Everybody/Diversity Strengthens Our Community," and are also available by emailing Bhalla at councilmanbhalla@gmail.com.
