As the Mercury first reported today on Twitter—alerting some of our news partners—the nascent food cart pod Mayor Charlie Hales really wanted for City Hall’s plaza has been put on hiatus as of this afternoon.
Fuego, the burrito handcart that set up last Monday in the plaza, was back in its familiar place outside the Portland Building at SW 4th and Madison. And the three metal tables and 12 metal chairs meant to entice Fuego and other carts to the plaza, at a cost of nearly $4,000, have been shunted away into storage.
Kelly Ball, a spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Finance, which runs the city’s facilities department, confirmed the move this afternoon. Later today, Hales’ spokesman, Dana Haynes, confirmed the same.
One issue is a drop in business. The other, though, is the fact that Fuego appeared in the plaza soon after Hales’ had staffers clear out two religious vigils aimed at ending the city’s camping ban. Haynes told me yesterday that Fuego’s workers had been harassed in recent days by activists bitter about the switch—harassment, if true, is completely unfair for the cart’s workers. Haynes was hoping that wouldn’t lead to a move, he explained today.
But it did. Fuego’s owner had put the city on notice yesterday. Tomas Karwowski emailed Wendy Gibson in facilities. Gibson has been running point on the city’s food cart attraction efforts.
Wendy, we will be moving our cart back to our previous spot as soon as tomorrow.
Our sales are much lower, but what is more bothersome is a social and political dispute we find ourselves to be in the middle of.
During last week we have been approached by activist daily, yesterday Occupy Portland were giving away free burritos very next to our cart.
I am sorry that this did not work out, for it seemed, if only for a moment, the opportunity could have benefited us both.
As Karkowski mentioned, the move comes two days after activists led by Cameron Whitten, housing justice advocate (read his and the Reverend Chuck Currie’s post on Blue Oregon) and former hunger striker, passed out free burritos in the plaza during lunchtime to call attention to Hales’ plans. That event didn’t draw any customers away from Fuego—and Whitten tells me today he made sure to hand over a $50 tip before his rally.
Ball told me the city still hopes to attract carts. But Haynes says, until it does, the new tables and chairs are going away. They were mostly there, he says, as an enticement for cart operators who needed a nudge to move. They could come back without a cart, he says, under certain conditions.
“If there’s not carts, we’ll put the tables and chairs away,” Haynes says. “Unless we get a lot of city employees who say they want to take their sack lunches down there or want to hold their staff meetings outside and get some vitamin D.”
THEY DON’T ALREADY HOLD STAFF MEETINGS OUTSIDE?!
“Being inside in Portland, Oregon, in August is a sin.”
-Charlie Hales
“—harassment, if true, is completely unfair for the cart’s workers.” Lol – Dennis, this is exactly what makes you a worthless liberal. You’re arguing that the activists which have opposed the Mayor’s forcible removal of a religious vigil are at fault for opposing the commercialization of their protest site. That makes you a pathetic piece of shit who thinks that burritos somehow trump human lives. Go fuck yourself.
Nascent food, that’s a tough sell. It’s much better in Nascea.
It’s just economics. Free burrito = better then paid burrito every time.
I’ll be down at City Hall plaza later today to give away free burritos and then pay you $5 to eat them. You’ll actually make money on the deal! Can’t beat that offer…
Wow- has Occupy Portland has really devolved into a bunch of loser pastors and junkies who think they can claim public space for their lame version of monotheism?
Maybe some of us are not part of your crappy ecumenical kumbaya and don’t want your “shrine” on city space.
Just more oppression from the namby-pamby vaguely faith-based community, in association with the ugliest junky kids I have ever seen.
Begin pet peeve rant:
“As the Mercury first reported today on Twitter—alerting some of our news partners—”
NO ONE (BUT YOU) GIVES A FUCK IF YOU BREAK THE NEWS A MICROSECOND FASTER THAN THE COMPETITION.
Have people ever chosen or stuck with a news outlet because they break stories? In the last 50 years, has anyone ever said to anyone else, “I love [news outlet], they are always first to tell me things?” The rush to be first creates shitty journalism. Including these little digs at the competition is just surplus verbiage that makes you feel good about yourself. It does nothing for the reader, beyond making you look silly.
Stop reminding us who was first, focus on being best. Think of it like sex: quality* trumps speed.
* (Tempted to use “depth.”)
Is there some way I could volunteer to help Cameron Whitten with his next hunger strike? I feel bad that he keeps doing these hunger strikes, and then keeps failing to complete the terms by eating food. I pledge that I will do whatever it takes to ensure that nary a drop of food nor water enters his body! I want to help, Cameron!
I guess we can’t have nice things.
Hey, CC: I generally agree. But tell it to the rest of our friends in the media. Because peer pressure…
Also, Rob_Banks: Save the insults and great leaps of logic. If the assertion of harassment is true and not exaggerated, it would objectively be shitty for the line employees who didn’t make the decision to move (and might not be paid that much themselves) to take guff from anyone. Abusing grunt workers is misguided and not the same as protesting.
@ Reverend Bite Me on 08/29/2013 at 9:14 AM”
What part o separation of of Church & State don’t you understand?
If you want some magic sky fairy vigil, put it on your own property. City Hall is not the place for that bullshit.