Girl gets $50 ticket for lemonade stand

NEW YORK, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A 10-year-old girl in New York says she received a $50 ticket from parks department officials for operating a lemonade stand without a permit.

Clementine Lee and her father, Richard, opened their lemonade stand in Riverside Park on Saturday to take advantage of the hot summer weather and within 20 minutes they sold 10 glasses of ice-cold lemonade, the New York Post reported Sunday.

"It was such a hot day I figured people would want a cold drink," Lee said.

Lee's father said when he and his daughter were initially approached by the parks department agents, the city officials were less than friendly.

"They approached us nonchalantly but then surrounded us," the elder Lee told the Post. "They were very hostile as soon as they approached, saying 'Where's your permit? Where's your permit?'"

While several onlookers came to the father-daughter duo's aid, the two officers issued the pair a summons for selling food without a license.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe told the Post the Lees' ticket would be dismissed as the agents did not properly enforce city regulations.