Q. Does the city have a handbill ordinance? If no, how can Harvest Homecoming officials prohibit handbills?
A. No handbill ordinance found. No authority for any group or person to say they (handbills) are prohibited. Let me know if you need more.
This issue most recently arose in a Facebook discussion about Harvest Homecoming in the context of the new generation of locally owned, downtown businesses. Gregg Seidl observed:
If folks can walk around and hand out religious pamphlets, I sure as hell don't see why I can't hand out something promoting local businesses.Pete Lyons of DRC then provided the governing committee's justification, which we've been hearing for many years:
The rule according to HHC, is if you have a booth, you can hand out whatever you want. If you have a business, you're screwed. So a church (or any other group) that has a booth can have free domain to distribute whatever they want. If a business wants to distribute information, they MUST have a booth.Note also that if a downtown business owner wants to have a booth, or in practice, if a downtown business owner wants to have an clear entry portal for customers during the four days of the festival, he or she must purchase it. In effect, certain downtown business owners must pay Harvest Homecoming to remain open during the event -- and then be prohibited from using handbills to remind attendees that the business remains open.
Now, with the city attorney clearly stating that there exists no legal mechanism to suppress free speech during Harvest Homecoming, it will be interesting to see what happens when the first person tries to do so. The first three persons might well be myself, Gregg and Pete.
This will be a fun year. Last year was my biggest confrontation yet. There was a church booth (gotta love that) right in front of Thorpe. They had been asked repeatedly to clear the sidewalk. They had literally taken it over.
ReplyDeleteFor those not familiar with the front lines off HHC, this is a HUGE problem for business owners.
I went down and had a heart to heart with the people in the booth, asked them if they had a copy of the rules governing their booth, and why they would not comply with keeping the sidewalk clear. They said they would work on it, but instead went and grabbed a HHC official and pointed me out.
I asked the HHC official (I think it was the VP), why after so many complaints, they weren't enforcing their own policies.
His answer? "I've made an exception, and that's final"
and then there's the plight of Michelle of Creative Boutique....
I know that I can't be the first to have thought of this or proposed it, so there has to be a reasonable explanation as to why it's not done.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know a "valid" reason as to why the booths are not facing back to back in the center of the street (with navigable space in between for booth workers), with foot traffic on the actual sidewalks and remaining exposed street?
Other than the obvious fact that you would have to walk both sides of the street to see all booths, though, what the booths then lack (visibility), the existing establishments gain.
@TSOL: It's been proposed many times. The answer always comes back that emergency vehicles would not have access.
ReplyDelete@pete: I didn't even consider that, mainly because, I would think that expanding the definition of "emergency vehicle" beyond just cars and trucks, "borrowed" equipment from other municipalities that is navigable for what we may lack (if anything), as well as utilizing alleys where available (and wide enough) for emergency access, I wouldn't think this would be a huge challenge that couldn't be overcome (other than just not wanting to).
ReplyDeleteI'm just thinking that laws are still enforced and fires are still fought in other downtowns where you can't get an entire engine right in front of the incident and/or emergency in question.
New Albany has as much surface parking as anything. We should be asking why booths need to be located in the streets at all.
ReplyDeleteWhat we've forgotten is that not so many years ago, there weren't as many active, vital storefronts in the area of HHC.
ReplyDeleteHHC may have been created as a way to attract attention to empty storefronts in New Albany. Jeff's poit is a good one - perhaps turn HHC into a larger, single footprint.
Jeff's "point" is a good one as well. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure this will get me some "S" form someone.
ReplyDelete1st. If I owned a business in downtown NA I would pass out what ever I wanted and if given any shit about it call the local news station and let them know that the city is trying to hurt the very business that will carry them through this mess they got us into with not maintaining the bridge in the first place.
2nd, I would go bat shit crazy if someone renting a space for 4 days got an adavange over a business that pays taxes 365 days a year an them blocked the door to my business.
@Jeff: I hadn't thought of that. The Holiday Festival that moved from Pearl St. to inside of the YMCA gave me this idea.
ReplyDeleteI haven't run a tape measure, but looking at some satellite views, all of the HHC booths "might" fit in the parking garage downtown.
Run booths along all the walls, as well as North to South along the the center, on all 4 levels, and leave the streets for parking and the sidewalks clear to peruse the business.
To be far,
ReplyDeleteI think HHC is great for NA. It just needs to work with the businesses along the streets it's using. This should be a win-win.
@vetteman: most of the businesses close. Most have also finally tracked enough data to realize that they lose a up to 30% of their revenue during harvest.
ReplyDeleteUnless you're a bar or a restaurant, HHC has very little value. It actually attracts the wrong type of client that the businesses are looking for.
Two things you can guarantee to happen: you're toilets will overflow, and something will get stolen.
The HHC is supposed to work with the business owners, but it's still the most backwards good 'ol boy network you'll ever find.
Here's my offer: I'll print whatever flyers you rebels want to hand out for free just to watch the mayhem.
you haven't lived until you've experienced the orange shirt gestapo!!
@Pete: If you print any up for local businesses then my daughter and I would be glad to pass them out for a couple of hours!? You just let me know!? #StopTheOrangeGestapo
DeleteI know I've pisses off my far share, I will pass them out for someone when I'm there on Saturday. ;-)
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I've always threatened to close the week of Harvest Homecoming, our worst week of the year.
ReplyDeleteThis year, we're doing so. We'll close Friday before the parade and reopen the Monday after the festival.
Pete, I'll be up all night thinking of what I want to say on my "pamphlet" ... thanks!
ReplyDelete