It's an Intifuda!
The halal food vendor claims his 10-stall empire in Midtown has been upended by jealous rivals who tried to take his prime location, hired vagrants to sabotage his business and even had him wrongfully arrested.
Ayman Afifai's American dream became a nightmare because of the “petty” pranks of Nasser Aissa, a fellow Jersey City resident who allegedly harbors a “long-standing grudge” against him, Afifai said in his lawsuit.
Afify carts are located in high-traffic areas such as West 34th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues near Pennsylvania Station, and West 49th Street and Broadway near Times Square.
Aissa, 46, would start food fights to rob customers, and the two would often fight near the crowded Pennsylvania Station, Afifai, 39, alleged in court documents.
“Once upon a time [his] “My mission and lifelong pursuit of providing good food to New Yorkers and Manhattan visitors has become a source of anguish,” he lamented in a Manhattan Supreme Court filing.
The confrontation escalated on July 23, 2023, when Aissa called 911 from West 34th Street and Seventh Avenue, claiming Afifai brandished a gun and threatened to kill her, according to court documents.
Afifi was out running errands when police arrived, but claims the “imitation pistol” in the cart was armed. He was arrested and charged with criminal intimidation and unlawful possession of a weapon.
The suit was later dismissed.
Afifai claims Aissa has ruined his reputation and is asking the judge for $1 million in damages and to order Aissa to stop interfering with his business.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Aisa, who sold kebabs, pretzels, hot dogs and chicken and rice from a food cart in Hudson Yards, denied hiring vagrants to disrupt Afify's business.
“Nothing of that nature has happened,” the married father of four told The Washington Post.
Aissa said he was unaware of Afifai's lawsuit and maintained that Afifai and another man “brandished a gun at me” last year, but insisted the differences between the rivals had been resolved.
“There's no more fighting,” he said.
This is not the first time that conflict has arisen between food retailers.
In February 2023, a long-time City Hall business owner was attacked and hit in the legs and back with a tire iron by enforcement officers from a rival company who were trying to extort $20,000 from him.
A few months later in June, another vendor was slashed in the throat by a rival in a long-running turf war in Herald Square.
Additional reporting by Claire Samstag
