On the Record: Halil Kaya
By Oona Milliken | omilliken@queensledger.com
Despite the gray weather in Downtown Brooklyn, Halil Kaya was smiling inside the ice cream truck parked outside Albee Square. After selling five strawberry smoothies to a large family and one rainbow sprinkled cone to a mother-daughter duo, Kaya stopped serving and said he loves selling ice cream because of how happy it makes people.
“I just love to make people happy, you know? To see the kids happy. That’s the best job I want to do,” Kaya said.
Kaya, whose favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate vanilla twist, said it can sometimes be hard to stay positive in such a hectic area. According to Kaya, Albee Square is bustling with people from all over Brooklyn, and people can be rude and abrasive when he’s working the window.
“Sometimes people like to give you a hard time about the ice cream, or the prices, but otherwise I like it,” Kaya said.
Because of this, Kaya said he wanted people to spread positivity, and remind people to stay polite during ice cream rush hours.
“Just be polite to others with whatever you do. You should just try to make people happy everyday. Yeah, just be polite,” Kaya said. “Share the happiness.”
