Alfonso Morales's blog

Folks,

Most of what we write is about policy, here's a practical idea from a market master:

Simple trick to keep banners from ripping off their grommets . . .
run a rope through all grommets -- in one, out the other --- then when you stretch the rope you won't be putting the tension on the banner (but on the rope instead).
Then add a knot on both sides of the last grommets on each side of the banner (two knots at each end of the banner, one on each side of the grommet), these knots help to keep the banner stretched while still allowing the wind to pull on the rope overall rather than the banner fabric. Difficult to describe without drawing or in person display.
Hope that helps,
Mark Wall
Thriving Community Marketplaces

FARMERS MARKETS PROTECTED BY LEGISLATION

On Monday, September 21, the Council unanimously approved Council Bill 116612, cutting the permit fees charged to Farmers Markets by approximately 90%. This action is a key implementation step for the Local Food Action Initiative (Resolution 31019). Under the new fee structure, fees are reduced from $11000 to $550 for a 28 week market. Farmers markets are experiencing difficulty staging markets on privately owned sites, and this helps them in securing more stable locations on public property.

Hi Folks,

A recent competition for designing farmers markets was hosted by GOOD magazine. Please have a look at: http://www.good.is/post/redesign-your-farmers-market-winners/

A student of mine, Josh Donaldson, and I submitted an entry, you can see it in the markets journal!

best to all,
Alfonso

Folks,

Sean Basinski, of the New York's Street Vendor Project, is recently returning from a Fulbright Fellowship in Lagos. He composed the report, "All Fingers are Not Equal." It will be of great interest!

Contact him directly at sbasinski@urbanjustice.org

Find the report on the Markets Journal section of the webpage!

all best,
Alfonso

Recently a student of mine forwarded me this email request for help:

Greetings--

I'm looking for folk who work in communities that regulate street
vendors and peddlers.

You fit the bill, you say?

Great. So, tell me how you handle requests by peddlers/vendors who want,
say, to run a shaved ice cart in front of a boutique--with the boutique
owner's support, of course--for a month.

Do you allow it?

And, if you do allow this sort of thing, is there ever a point (hours per
week/weeks per year) where you conclude the peddler/vendor is doing things
that warrant a look at the approvals pertaining to the site (e.g., site
plan approval)?

What defines that point?

Thanks for any input. And if you can, please provide a copy of your
response to X A CITY PLANNER IN THE NORTHEAST.

I responded and asked her to send the following (I HOPE IT HELPS FOLKS!):