Tag Archives: Flea Market

Management of Flea Markets Presents Hurdle for Eastern Market Legislation – ANC6B Support on Hine Contingent on Legislation’s Success

by Larry Janezich

Last Monday, July 2, at the City Council’s Committee on Government Operations hearing on Councilmember Tommy Well’s Eastern Market legislation, an array of stake holding organizations lined up to oppose two key provisions of the bill.  The first issue was language requiring the proposed Eastern Market Trust to give the current weekend flea market operators the first opportunity to contract “under substantially similar terms” to provide the weekend flea markets.  The second was language providing for self-perpetuation of the proposed Trust to oversee Market operations.

Opponents of the “substantially similar language” provision included the Task Force set up by Wells to make recommendations for a new Market-governing structure, and the Capitol Hill Restoration Society.  The Eastern Market Tenants’ Council opposed the self-perpetuating provision and Eastern Market Community Advisory Council Chair Donna Scheeder pointedly stated that that provision had not been their recommendation.  The Tenants’ Council’s position is that they should have six of the total number of seats on the new Trust. 

Committee Chair Muriel Bowser (Ward 4), expressed concern about both provisions.  A representative of Mayor Gray said that while the Mayor supported the objectives of the bill, he opposed the legislation as currently written due to “public policy concerns about the purported establishment in the legislation of a non-District entity to lease and operate a valuable government asset.”

ANC6B has no formal position on the “substantially similar” language, though Commission representative Brian Pate said he had concerns about the provision since he lacked the contracts to review and was hesitant to tie the future Trust to terms of the contracts.  Commissioner Ivan Frishberg, testifying as an individual, stated he thought concerns about the “substantially similar” language were ‘over-stated” and thought a middle ground could be found on which to move forward.

ANC6B has endorsed the legislation and has made its support of the Memorandum of Agreement regarding community benefits and amenities for the Hine development contingent on approval of the legislation which offers a solution to the widely-opposed halving of the weekend flea markets occasioned by the construction of the Hine project. 

The opposition to the “substantially similar” language is based on the bill’s stated objective of making the Market self-sustainable in ten years.  Eastern Market operations ordinarily need to be subsidized by the city.  Granting a too-favorable contract to weekend flea market managers instead of allowing the future Market Trust to benefit from the revenue which would accrue from bringing the flea markets under its jurisdiction diverts income from a city resource to the private sector.  Some critics claim the two weekend flea market managers gross more annually than the market itself.  Flea market managers dispute this.

Regarding the “substantially similar” language, Chair Bowser said on one hand, there might be some flexibility in city policy regarding first refusal – usually reserved for housing issues – when it comes to other public goods.  On the other hand, she said outside vendor managers may not be in the interests of the Market.  Regarding the self-perpetuating issue, she said the issue of accountability requires the City Council to make sure the Trust is directly accountable to the taxpayer – and “one way to do that is to have members of the Trust appointed by elected officials and approved by the Council.” 

Wells is hoping for the first of two Council votes on the bill before July 15, and has said he will continue to clarify the bill with input from the community.  Mayor Gray’s representative said the Mayor would like to have further conversations with Wells about the governance of the Market.

More information may become available when ANC6B meets Tuesday night.  On the agenda:   Discussion and possible action regarding recent events related to proposed Eastern Market legislation.  The meeting is at 7:00pm in Hill Center.

Flea Market Managers Disappointed in Draft Eastern Market Legislation – Future of Flea Markets in Doubt

by Larry Janezich

The two managers of Eastern Market’s weekend flea markets are unhappy with the draft version of legislation to create a new governing authority for Eastern Market circulated by Councilmember Wells.

According to Michael Berman, manager of the Sunday flea market, and Carol Wright, manager of the Saturday flea market, the bill is “sloppily written,” leaving them and their vendors without the protection offered to the vendors who operate inside the Market, on 7^th Street and on the sidewalks around Eastern Market and the Natatorium; the draft bill also makes no provision for continuing the weekend flea markets at anything more than half the size of the current markets.

As written now, the legislation would create a new Eastern Market Historic Special Use District encompassing all of the area currently occupied by vendors, including those operating on the Hine playground, as well as other areas such as 7^th Street between C Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, and the to-be-reopened C Street between 7^th and 8^th Streets, SE, which will or could be used for future locations of the flea market once the construction and operation of the Hine Development begins.

All vending operations in the newly defined Special Use District would come under the control of the Trust, an entity that the bill will establish to govern Eastern Market.  The legislation does not prohibit the Trust from contracting out the flea market operations to Berman and Wright, but it offers no guarantee that it will do so.

Regardless, Berman asserts that the developers of the Hine project – Stanton Eastbanc – have raised unrealistic expectations about how many of the current flea market vendors can be accommodated in the only space that is presently allotted for their use:  part of the newly reopened C Street and the “public plaza” which is represented by a widening of C Street where it meets 7^th Street, diagonally across from Eastern Market.

The developer claims there is room for 68 10 x 10 foot tents – a little more than half of the current Sunday flea market on a busy day.  In their original proposal, Stanton Eastbanc provided for 90 10 x 10 foot spaces, but the current design yields only the lower figure (68).   Berman says that the plan is not workable because it does not take into account the logistics of setting up tents in such a confined space, provides aisles which are too narrow, does not take into account impedances such as trees and bollards, and notes that there is only one elevator to service the vendors who will have 50 parking spaces set aside in the project for their use on weekends.  Berman estimates that not more than 40 vendors will be able to set up on C Street and the public plaza and predicts a logistical nightmare for setting up these few.

The Eastern Market Legislation holds out the possibility that 7^th Street between C Street and Pennsylvania Avenue could be closed to accommodate vendors who will not find space on the newly opened C Street.  Berman estimates that perhaps 50 vendors could set up on this section of 7^th Street, but the legislation says nothing about authority to close this part of 7^th.  How the “brick and mortar” merchants on the west side of the street between Eastern Market and Pennsylvania Avenue will react to a proposal to close the street is unknown – but their counterparts opposite Eastern Market are known to be unhappy about former Mayor Fenty closing that section of 7^th on weekends by fiat.

Councilmember Wells will address community concerns on these and other issues at a public meeting on Tuesday, May 22, from 6:30pm – 8:00pm at Brent Elementary School, 301 North Carolina Avenue, SE.

Important dates in the development’s future are as follows:

June 7, 2012 – DC City Council Committee of the Whole hearing on Eastern Market Bill

June 14, 2012 – Planned Unit Development (PUD) Hearing before DC Zoning Commission

January – October 2012 – Construction Drawings Completed

September 2012 – Submit request for Building Permits

April 2013 – Start Building Construction

Spring 2015 – Completion

Weekend Flea Market to be Much Reduced by Stanton Eastbanc Hine Development

by Larry Janezich

No matter what happens, the Eastern Market weekend flea market will be smaller in the future.

Competing interests of the city, the developer, and Eastern Market have put the squeeze on the weekend flea markets and the vendors who operate outside the market on weekends.   Stanton Eastbanc’s current development plans do not allow for a full weekend flea market, and the city has no immediate or obvious plans to either compel the developer to make room for the flea market or to create a new home for it that will accommodate its current size.

One of the requirements for all the contractors who bid for the Hine development was that “sufficient space” for the flea market had to be provided.  The original Stanton Eastbanc plan for the development which got the nod from the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development would have provided 90 spaces for vendor’s tents on the newly reopened C Street, and on a square plaza centrally located within the project and set back from the middle of the newly opened C Street.

After the project was awarded to Stanton Eastbanc, the size of the project increased and the space for the flea market was shrunk.  Currently the plan provides for space for 68 vendor tents on C Street.  The plaza – originally touted as vendor space – currently appears to be reserved for public space including water features and café seating (which is proprietary and not public space).

Most people don’t realize that the weekend outdoor market comprises three entities:  the food and non-food vendors outside Eastern Market, on 7th Street and on the natatorium plaza under control of Barry Margeson, Eastern Market manager; the Saturday flea market on the Hine playground, managed by Carol Wright; and the Sunday flea market, managed by Diverse Market Management, owned by Michael Berman.  The popular weekend market attracts up to 30,000 visitors and supports up to 150 vendor tents on a good weekend, according to Berman.

Councilmember Tommy Wells is currently re-writing legislation establishing a Trust which will be the new governing authority for Eastern Market, including the weekend flea markets.  The legislation – which may be revealed within days – will likely provide for consolidating the management of the three outdoor markets under the Trust.  The goal of the Market is to be self-sustaining within ten years, and it is difficult to imagine a scenario that will allow it to be so without consolidating control of the weekend market and using vendor fees toward that end.  Currently, the two flea market managers each pay $24,000 annually to the city to rent the Hine parking lot on weekends, and they in turn charge individual vendors for space on the weekends.

In addition to concern over the number of vendor tents accommodated under current plans, Michael Berman calls Stanton Eastbanc’s proposal for parking 50 vendor trucks in the development’s parking garage problematic, noting that many of his vendors deal with large pieces and that access to C Street for set up with be limited to one small service elevator.

In an apparent attempt to salvage the current weekend flea market’s size and diversity, Councilmember Wells has floated the option of closing 7th Street on weekends to accommodate vendors who cannot fit onto C Street, but Berman notes that at best, there are spaces for 50 vendors.

In addition, the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC) opposes closing of 7th Street for several reasons, including detrimental impact on the “brick and mortar” merchants on 7th Street, loss of 30 parking spaces on 7th Street, and loss of access to the new development’s loading dock.  EMCAC has also gone on record opposing Stanton-Eastbanc charging vendors for use of the new C Street as well as charging vendors for the 50 spaces reserved for vendor parking in the development on weekends.  (EMMCA is currently supporting subsidized parking for vendors on weekends so as to prevent vendors from seeking parking on residential streets.)

There are other ways to provide space for vendors, including widening the sidewalks on 7th Street and/or C Street, or widening the plaza on C Street.  All of these would involve changing the footprint of the building, which will undoubtedly be resisted by Stanton Eastbanc.  The developer’s private ownership of C Street also imperils the market; as currently written, the ground lease allows the developer to unilaterally close down the flea market if it wishes.  EMCAC is strongly opposed to permitting the developer to have this authority and supports language in the new Eastern Market legislation to prevent it.

The flea market manager’s contracts with the city extend until construction on the new project begins – currently slated for September 2013.  What happens after construction begins and in the interim until the newly reopened C Street is ready to accept vendor operations is uncertain.  Commissioner Brian Pate, ANC6B’s representative to EMCAC, reported to ANC6B Tuesday night, that EMCAC’s current position is that the developer created this problem and should solve it without shifting responsibility to the city to close 7th Street.  He also called upon EMCAC to step up and develop a plan for the flea market during the construction phase.