Long Beach ice cream truck vendors worry about music restrictions

It’s been a worrisome and confusing time for ice cream truck vendors in Long Beach.

A proposed city ordinance that would require vendors to obey noise ordinances and prevent them from playing music while their vehicles idle has led them to believe they were being banned from the city.

“What else can you deduce when you read news reports about the last days of an ice cream man?” said Nestor Zea, 61, of Long Beach. “We were really worried.”

Zea said he had trouble sleeping when he learned about the proposed ordinance Monday.

“My wife was asking: What are we going to do? I said, don’t worry, God will watch over us,” he said. “But deep down inside, I was panicking, too. There’s not a lot of jobs out there.”

Councilman Dee Andrews is seeking to include ice cream truck music in the city’s noise ordinance after receiving complaints from residents in his district, which includes the Sunrise, Whittier, Wrigley and South Wrigley neighborhoods.

“It got so misconstrued,” Andrews said. “The issue here is the amplified music. Once you stop, please turn it off. That’s all, nothing more and nothing less.”

He said the ordinance would not impose limits on when or where ice cream truck operators can sell their frozen treats, although he said there have been times when vendors have sold ice cream as late as 9 p.m.

Sam Portillo said he moved into the Wrigley neighborhood area seven years ago. Since then, he said, the number of ice cream trucks selling in the neighborhood has increased, adding to the noise that neighborhood residents hear.

Many of the vendors said they understand how residents feel. Some have already begun turning off the iconic songs after receiving complaints.

The problem, Zea said, is that the vendors are not organized. There are no routes they follow and they don’t communicate much. Sometimes, he said, he’s seen more than three ice cream trucks on one street with music playing.

“I try to tell them, if there’s going to be three of you guys on a street, at least have [just] one truck playing music,” Zea said. “But that’s just me advising them.“

Nearby, Ismael Hernandez of Long Beach said many of the vendors he has spoken with aren’t too happy about the possible restrictions.

Hernandez said he’s worried that if vendors are parked but no one can hear the music, customers won’t come.

“The music is what brings the children out,” he said. “If they take that away, our businesses are going to be affected in a negative way.

“And it doesn’t end there,” Hernandez said. “The ice cream suppliers are going to be affected by this, too.”

ALSO:

LAFD Chief Brian Cummings says he wants to keep his job

Three firefighters injured in three-alarm blaze in City of Industry

Victory for veterans -- WWII barracks at O.C. Fairgrounds to be saved

Twitter: @latvives

ruben.vives@latimes.com