Street vendors and neighborhood
businesses are
“Sold Out”
In
her article "Sold Out," Hilary Russ interviews store owners 16 months after the city of
New York kicks out the street vendors in the Fulton Street neighborhood the year
earlier. The city used helicopters, mounted police, and a special police task
force in a one-day “raid” to remove the undesirable legally licensed and
unlicensed vendors in the spring of 2001.
The
police were acting on complaints by a real estate group and supposedly
unidentified businesses. This is typical of many communities where the brick
and mortar establishments often times do not “take to kindly” to the “good old
fashion American free market” and lower priced competition. Some vendors do
make bad impressions on the neighborhood, not demonstrating respect for their
business or the neighborhood. Nevertheless, poor treatment of customers,
leaving trash around, and dishonesty is found in even brick and mortar
establishments or neighborhoods.
Sadly,
most of the storeowners imply their incomes fell 20% after the vendor
evictions. Often most cities do not fully understand the economies of agglomeration,
despite the practice in every shopping mall in their own back yards.
Importantly,
council member Alan
Gerson makes three great suggestions on managing proper balance for street
vendors. 1.“Identify the appropriate time, place and density for sidewalk
vending; 2. work with vendors on-site to address sanitation or noise complaints;
and 3. develop something he calls a "vendor benevolent society.” If that
fails, consider putting them in a marketplace.”
A very well written article,
which also quotes Professor Steve Balkin based on his in-depth studies in the
original Chicago Maxwell Street Market on the many aspects of street vending.
(We will review many of his papers as time allows.)
Reference
City Limits Magazine, September/October
2002, Sold Out by Hilary Russ.
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