GREEN MOUSE SAYS: Did BOW give Dan Coffey permission to leverage city-owned ground during the Orange Occupation?

The Green Mouse was having a conversation with a downtown business owner, who asked a simple question.

Who owns the grassy lot at the foot of Bank Street, by the flood wall and to the east of Underground Station?

That'd be the City of New Albany. The business owner rolled his eyes.

Did the Green Mouse realize that during all four booth days of Harvest Homecoming, councilman Dan "Wizard of Westside" Coffey manned this city-owned grassy patch, charging drivers to park their cars on this lot?

"No," said the Green Mouse, grasping for his flask.

Did the money actually go to the city, or did it go into Dan Coffey's pockets? 

Did the Board of Works grant permission for city-owned property to be used in this way?

(Later, the Green Mouse glanced back at BOW's recent minutes, and could find no reference to Coffey, parking, the grassy non-knoll, or permission to conduct business there.)

The business owner had a final thought.

Faced with an abominable two-week parking blackout owing to the presence of Fiesta Rides, many of the businesses asked both the city and Harvest Homecoming if there was additional parking elsewhere.

They were all told no, and yet right there in spitting distance was Coffey's personal Harvest Homecoming pocket-stuffing, electricity-bill-paying mechanism.

If any city officials are reading, might we gently ask for an explanation? Perhaps no graft favor is too small in return for Coffey's support of the mayor's hostile takeover of public housing, even if Cappuccino no longer is a Democrat.

#OrangeOccupation