Letter: Small restaurants at a disadvantage
Rolling in Dough owner Matt Michel, 30, makes pizza outside this truck with a wood-fired brick oven. He said “it was shocking” to find out his Greenport business was $250,000 richer after winning a JPMorgan Chase small-business grant. Credit: Trevor Munch
I believe state and federal government officials are unfairly targeting and harassing delis, pizzerias and Chinese and Japanese restaurants to increase tax revenue ["Domino's settlement," News, April 14].
All of these places do a great service for their communities. The owners are being portrayed as criminals preying on immigrants here illegally and young workers by not paying them overtime or the minimum wage. Officials interview workers then add a ridiculous amount of hours, and it's your word against theirs.
I had one investigator tell me that there was not one Hispanic guy in my kitchen that was not working at least 50 hours. I asked whether she was prejudiced.
They actually interviewed a mentally disabled individual whom I had making pizza boxes for me a few hours a week. He told them he worked 100 hours a week. They came back with the determination that I owed him $30,000.
A delivery driver who worked for me maybe 20 hours was said to be owed about $9,000.
We are being targeted and taxed to the point where it's difficult to stay in business. In all seriousness, it's like the KGB. I just wish that for once people could hear the other side of the story.
Guy Caligiuri, St. James
Editor's note: The writer is the owner of Patio Pizza in St. James.
