Palmer Events Center
23rd Street Artists Market Failing Because of City
RECEIVED Mon., June 23, 2008
Dear Editor,
[RE: "(Further) Beside the Point," News, June 20] The 23rd Street Artists' Market (it has not been called Renaissance for some time) once enjoyed a national reputation for quality handcrafted items, attracted thousands of tourists, and gave a wide variety of artisans a venue at which they were able to make a living. It is shameful for a city that so loudly touts its support of musicians to so completely ignore other forms of artistry. Decades of neglect by the Austin City Council, the Austin Police Department, and the Austin Parks & Recreation Department are instrumental in the slow, sad decline to the "glass and bead" market it is today.
It is the duty of the City Council to appoint commissioners.
APD and Parks Police could never agree on which department had the job of policing the market. It was a no (law) man's zone for years. I know; I was a vendor there for several years. I left after an incident where I called the APD to subdue a man who was aggressively threatening another vendor. The man was arrested, came back several hours later, stood less than 10 inches away from me, and threatened me with graphic bodily harm. I called APD and, three hours later, no officer. This incident was in no way unique or infrequent. It was also not unusual for customers to witness things such as, but not limited to, knife fights, (very) public urination, profanity in the presence of young children, and aggressive panhandling.
Vendors and customers left and never returned. Changes proposed by the artisans and/or the commissioners to remedy these and other problems were cited as being too time-consuming for the staff of the Parks Department to implement. I know; I was at the monthly meetings for more than a year. Yet this is the same department that City Council proposes to directly oversee the market? Hmm. Here's an alternate idea: Why don't we do some research, look at other successful markets in the country, and find a solution that will benefit the market and the artisans?
[RE: "(Further) Beside the Point," News, June 20] The 23rd Street Artists' Market (it has not been called Renaissance for some time) once enjoyed a national reputation for quality handcrafted items, attracted thousands of tourists, and gave a wide variety of artisans a venue at which they were able to make a living. It is shameful for a city that so loudly touts its support of musicians to so completely ignore other forms of artistry. Decades of neglect by the Austin City Council, the Austin Police Department, and the Austin Parks & Recreation Department are instrumental in the slow, sad decline to the "glass and bead" market it is today.
It is the duty of the City Council to appoint commissioners.
APD and Parks Police could never agree on which department had the job of policing the market. It was a no (law) man's zone for years. I know; I was a vendor there for several years. I left after an incident where I called the APD to subdue a man who was aggressively threatening another vendor. The man was arrested, came back several hours later, stood less than 10 inches away from me, and threatened me with graphic bodily harm. I called APD and, three hours later, no officer. This incident was in no way unique or infrequent. It was also not unusual for customers to witness things such as, but not limited to, knife fights, (very) public urination, profanity in the presence of young children, and aggressive panhandling.
Vendors and customers left and never returned. Changes proposed by the artisans and/or the commissioners to remedy these and other problems were cited as being too time-consuming for the staff of the Parks Department to implement. I know; I was at the monthly meetings for more than a year. Yet this is the same department that City Council proposes to directly oversee the market? Hmm. Here's an alternate idea: Why don't we do some research, look at other successful markets in the country, and find a solution that will benefit the market and the artisans?
Thank you,
Kat Allison
Kat Allison