There’s nothing quite like a nice family outing to a Braves game at Turner Field, especially when combined with a few hours before the game at FanPlex! (Wait! What? FanPlex closed? What happened?)
Sure, a Braves game can be pricey, but the Braves have made it more affordable with package deals on tickets and ballpark food. Mom and Dad can also save on souvenirs from the vendors who have been outside Turner Field for years — until now, that is.
A question for you Braves fans: As you made those treks from your car to the ballpark, did you ever turn to your wife or kids and say, “You know, honey, I’m a little upset that these kiosks around here selling all of these Braves T-shirts and caps don’t have more uniformity of appearance.”
“You’re right, dear. It’s just not right that some of these vendors have tried to make their souvenir stands more appealing than others.”
Then the brat pipes up: “And hey, Dad! How do we like know that these, like, T-shirts and baseball hats are, like, you know, quality products that would like measure up to the exacting standards of, like, politicians and stuff?”
Yup. It’s been a problem for years. Clearly we need uniformity of appearance of vendor kiosks around Turner Field and downtown, plus approval by some bureaucrat of the quality of the vendor’s merchandise. The government just hasn’t done enough for us here.
The next time you go to see a Braves game, look around! There they are! Uniform vending kiosks! Yup, things they are a-changin’, and the change started with the last administration at City Hall. Surely Shirley couldn’t have stood by and done nothing while baseball fans anguished over non-uniform vending kiosks and shoddy Chinese baseball caps?
You know those folks that run Perimeter Mall? General Growth Properties? Well, thanks to an initiative begun by former Mayor Shirley Franklin, that very same company now is in charge of the vending on the streets outside of Turner Field.
According to The Wall Street Journal (“Atlanta Street Sweep,” Aug. 15, 2011) Franklin expressed dismay in 2009 at the lack of uniformity in downtown and Turner Field vendors (Yes! Uniformity for all!) and the quality of goods they were selling. Excuse me, but isn’t that for the customers to determine? Well, not when the government can make a power move, I guess. So Atlanta gives General Growth a contract to run the entire thing! Let’s bring Shirley out of retirement so she can address the lack of uniformity of appearance of Atlanta’s retail establishments in actual brick-and-mortar stores! I’m really troubled by how different restaurants look so, er, different! And why isn’t the city monitoring the quality of goods sold at these places?
Now while Braves fans might celebrate uniformity and government quality of control, the vendors aren’t all that thrilled. They’ve seen rent on their businesses go from a $250 permit fee every year to the city to rents payable to General Growth Properties anywhere from $500 to $1,600 a month. Hence, the empty kiosks.
If this had been a white city administration yanking the livelihoods away from these predominantly black vendors, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would be down here leading demonstrations and screaming racism. Instead of the Jackson-Sharpton dog-and-pony show, we have the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public-interest law firm. The Institute for Justice, perhaps more widely known for fighting eminent domain abuse, is suing to throw aside the city’s agreement with General Growth Properties.
They’re fighting for mostly black vendors who are seeing years of hard work destroyed by a quest for uniformity. It’s really too bad we didn’t have a issue here that Al and Jesse could exploit.
Listen to Neal Boortz live from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays on AM 750 and 95.5FM News/Talk WSB.
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