[Editor's note: The following commentary is a thoughtful, well-formed opinion that takes a look at priorities, regulations, and the root of fair business practices and representation. We found this piece to be a good and perhaps unrepresented part of an ongoing dialogue.]
By Paul Morgan
Ah, the
exuberance, and injustice of youth, and inexperience. James the "Ice Creamcycle Dude" is a greening entrepreneur,
someone Buffalo sorely needs, and should be able to 'go where the people are',
and sell his inexpensive treats, wherever he likes, right? Or should he? The problem with these knee-jerk reactions to seemingly 'innocent
victims' of bureaucratic injustice, is that rarely do we get the entire story,
in full context, as relates to our community at large. Such is the case with this peddling
purveyor of spumoni on a stick.
First of all,
the City of Buffalo in no way resembles an 'oyster' except in the way our
business people and civic leaders often behave as if there is only one pearl of
great value to be wrestled from the tight grip of an old and calcified
shell! Buffalo is a city of a
relatively large number of individuals engaged in the day-to-day struggle to
make a living while civilly co-inhabiting a limited and defined physical
space. The cost of this civilization,
and democracy for that matter, is a system of rules and regulations that,
regrettably, govern all of our lives.
I have a
small business in which I make and sell a variety of fashion accessories. Like James, I wanted to go 'where the
people are', namely our area shopping malls during the holiday months. The cost for a self contained peddlers 'cart'
not much larger than James' ice cream cycle was between 10 and 30 thousand
dollars for a three-month season.
This financial reality presents relatively the same cost ratio of
dollars to dilly bars that James sights in his complaint, that being- a lot of
$1 - $2 cream cones, just to break even.
Yes indeed,
this is America, and James should be able to offer competition to Ben &
Jerry's, or Baskin Robbins, but the cost of doing so, in a capitalist society,
is the cost of rent, permits, and licenses. If James were to invest the staggering amount required to
rent a store front, establish a client base, advertise, insure, and what have
you, only to have Billy Bob ride up on a bike to drastically undercut his
overhead while stealing his customers, would he find that 'fair'? Similarly, Buffalo event planners take
huge risks, invest vast sums, and are entitled to a modicum of control over
event perimeters. They are
similarly entitled to reasonably charge a fee to venders to offsets production
costs to stage these popular FREE events, enjoyed by so many.
I also sell
my wares in the lobbies of some of Buffalo's premier office buildings. For that privilege I pay expensive per
day rental fees, and must carry exorbitant liability insurance, naming each and
every building specifically as an 'added insured to my policy', each time
incurring an additional $30 processing fee. Multiply our small experience times the thousands of unique
small businesses and the costs, and bureaucratic hurdles never seem to
end. Yes James, this infuriating,
frustrating situation is seemingly counterproductive to free enterprise and the
American dream.
The question
is: how do we address this problem? Do we make a knee-jerk exception in your case, or revamp existing codes
to custom fit your circumstance?
What of the rest of us? Do
we need to capture the hearts of citizens and the pages of local media to stand
a snow cones chance in hell to receive our right to fair representation in
local government? Or do we deceive
ourselves into believing that we are actually accomplishing anything by signing a poorly
worded petition, addressed to no law maker in particular, and making no specific
or reasoned request for progressive reform to our city permit codes? Again and again in this saga, I come
back to the seemingly obvious but never asked question....'what about the rest of
us?'
If I sound
like I have an ax to grind, I do.
When the Jersey Street Livery collapsed one year ago this week,
neighbors reached out repeatedly to this mayor and administration.
We
received little or no response from officials, and when the wrecking crews
arrived a week later, neighbors accessed the court system for an injunction, in
the only venue left to us, to have our voices heard by this
administration. The mayor NEVER
met with our community representatives, to this day in fact, yet we also
represented hundreds of petitioners and fellow citizens.
Unlike the
warm, friendly, and very public response James received from Mayor Brown, we
were fought by the city every step of the way to secure some remains of the
Livery, and continue to fight for a sensible re-use of the property that is
appropriate to our community. It
adds insult to injury to see the Mayor's grab for the spotlight in this
situation, and rush to remediate a problem that inconveniences three guys on
bikes- who by all appearances, did not do any due diligent research on city
permits before they creamed up their refrigerated cycles.
What this
city and country need is sustained and committed work on the part of all
citizens to be more involved in our democratic process, and the running of our
governments. I applaud James for
making his plight public, and sharing with us the difficulties in running a
small business start up in Buffalo.
What I resent is the special treatment certain sympathetic causes
receive in the media, and from city hall, out of all proportion to the relative
number of individuals effected, or the common good addressed.
I am aware
that our poor beleaguered Livery had just such appeal. What most readers may be unaware of
perhaps, is that those same citizens who worked to save the Livery, work year
in and year out, fighting crime, blight, street drugs, and problem landlords
through community clean ups, community gardens, block clubs, and as diligent
watchdogs in Buffalo housing courts.
A very few individuals do the heavy lifting for an entire community, and
every day we need more help, more press, and more sympathetic support from
elected officials.
So, by all
means, buy an ice cream cone from these poor guys - before they peddle to North
Carolina in search of the great American Dreamcycle....just make sure you enjoy
it on the way to a public planning meeting, block club, or charitable community
volunteer opportunity. Educate
yourselves on our rotten and failing school system and political machines, and
get involved. Two or three hours a
week could mean the difference between the Buffalo of our dreams, and the
depressing status quo.
See also: Buffalo News Story
Current city permit legislation doesn't take into consideration this innovative concept. Offer me a fair solution, it's all i'm asking for.