In the concrete jungle of New York City, ice cream trucks in the summer time are as common as the delayed subway trains and the curious smells that emanate from below.
This year, vendors are churning out creative tricks and gimmicks to attract customers against the backdrop of an economic recession, negative press over drugs and turf wars, and downright lousy weather.
Muggy and rainy, the unseasonable lull in New York's typically hot summers has played havoc on ice cream sales this year, according to just about everyone Xinhua spoke to for this article.
And, as the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. In dire need, New York City's unique entrepreneurs have taken a creative approach to ice cream, said Mike Johnston, the president- elect of the International Association of Ice Cream Vendors (IAICV).
Johnston told Xinhua in a phone interview on Wednesday that New York used to be a fleet market many years ago. Now, it's an industry of independent entrepreneurs taking to the streets their own spin on an American tradition.

REBIRTH OF THE COOL

"Do you have bacon today?" one customer asks, looking up at Doug Quint, who sells soft serve ice cream from the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck.
"Not today," he replies -- dashing the girl's hopes.
Everyday Quint announces a list of featured toppings on his blog, and yes, maple syrup-caramelized bacon is one of them. Others include: Wasabi pea dust, cayenne pepper, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt, and, of course, chocolate sprinkles.
Quint, 38, is a bassoonist working on his Doctorate of Musical Arts at CUNY Grad Center. Before completely focusing on his dissertation and pursing a crammed schedule as a freelancer in local orchestras, he thought it would be fun to dabble in the world of ice cream.
Why a "gay" ice cream truck? Besides the obvious, "I like putting the word 'gay' on something as innocuous as a truck," he replied.
In June, he received his handler's permit, just one day before his first planned gig at the Brooklyn Pride party in Prospect Park. Now, his truck, marked by a rainbow-swirled cone, can either be found in Union Square or in the East Village.
Further south in a Manhattan neighborhood called Nolita -- short for North of Little Italy -- an ambulator will meet Pearl. Quirky, pink and decked out in glitter and gems, she looks more like an art installation than an ice cream truck.
Run by three Americans in their early 1930s, Pearl is the flagship of Hearts Challenger, which sells an assortment of international ice cream, toys and candy with names as fun as their brightly colored packaging: Firecracker Juniors, Unicorn Candy, Love Heart Candy, and Jujubes.
Hearts Challenger serves as a model, said one of the owners, Chi Heralda, of what happens when a dream is realized and acted upon.
"In these economic times, we want to inspire people to follow their dreams," said Heralda, whose words of inspiration were as uplifting as the sugar high his customers come away with.

RECESSION AND BOREDOM

As the national unemployment rate flirts with double digits, the mobile ice cream industry offers a "Plan B" to those who have suffered in a massacre of layoffs.
With little start up money needed and the flexibility to pursue longer term goals, many have been lured to mobile ice cream sales as incomes have been sliced and diced.
James Conway Jr. is the vice-president of Mister Softee, one of America's oldest and largest franchisers of soft ice cream trucks. He recently told Xinhua that a number of his franchisees said that this year they have a pool of drivers to choose from.
"There's a better quality of people applying for jobs, primarily because you have people who are out of work," he said from his New Jersey office.
While unemployment is just one driver of change, tedium of a life drowning in routine is another.
Laila Safai, one of the three owners of Hearts Challenger, was tired of working a nine-to-five job at a hotel and always answering to someone else. In fact all three of the owners -- Safai, Heralda and Ben Pollick -- were bored stiff.
They now operate trucks in Miami, Los Angeles and New York City. The trio received two stationary permits to operate at Petrosino Park and Desalvio Park about a month ago -- the final green light for their debut on to New York City's streets. Max Serota, 27, joined the team last week after quitting his job at the trendy Japanese design companies, Muji.
When Heralda or Serota do decide to play music, it's not the typical lollipop track one normally thinks of. Like the truck, a more retro, glitchy song hums from a mounted speaker that is fully decked out in pink Swarovski crystals.
Donning a hot pink tie and pink pants, Serota passed out delicious, cool treats on a long-awaited warm afternoon. Most popular with adults, he said, is the Mochi ice cream, a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape.

THE DARK SIDE OF ICE CREAM

Heralda, Safai and Pollick spent a long time looking for the right location for their business. At first, they considered McCarren Park in Williamsburg, where an abandoned pool hosts large summer parties.
But, when the trio drove up in their truck, which bore no clues to their business, a man in a Mister Softee truck quickly pulled up behind them and started threatening them to leave or face the consequences, said Heralda.
"If the environment is going be like this and competition is going be like this, we don't want to do it," said Heralda, adding that in Nolita they pay for park permits thereby cutting out any competitors.
When asked about recent stories implicating Mister Softee in aggressive behavior, Conway Jr. said he "absolutely does not condone that kind of conduct" and if someone was to be officially charged with violent behavior, his or her franchise contract would be cancelled.
However, Conway Jr. cautioned that although there have been a number of incidents in recent weeks involving Mister Softee's name, the company has not actually been present.
For example, last week it was reported on the blog Midtown Lunch that a fight broke out between a Mister Softee driver and a vendor who runs the Haagen-Dazs cart on 50th St. and 6th Ave. in Manhattan.
As Conway Jr. aptly pointed out, the picture featured on the blog is of a red and white ice cream truck. Mister Softee dons the colors blue and white.
"A number of incidents that were reported in the media involved drivers who were not franchisees and have no connection to our business," he said. "Not all tissues are Kleenex."
And when it's not violent turf wars that threaten the wholesome image of ice cream sales, it's drugs. Take, for example, the arrest of a 22-year-old ice cream truck driver in Westbury, New York. After seeing him buy drugs in the doorway of a house, police charged the man with criminal possession of a controlled substance, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful possession of marijuana.
Leave it to New York to shed light on the darker side of a favorite childhood treat.
But for the most part, the mobile ice cream industry is filled with good intentions, said Heralda.
At first, Hearts Challenger wasn't welcomed by its new neighbors. A loud and clunky generator that powered the truck's dry ice machine angered a woman who lived in a nearby apartment, and who had recently begun spending her days at home after losing her job.
After speaking to the woman, the trio decided to lose the generator and buy dry ice instead.
"It's more expensive this way," said Heralda, "but at least we keep our neighbors happy."