I am Not Alone: Newsday article on street fairs

<p>[via <a href="http://sarahgarland.com/BigBite.pdf">BigBite.pdf (application/pdf Object)</a>]:</p> <p><cite></cite> </p><p>This is a PDF of an article that ran abotu 2 weeks ago in newsday. The article is a mixed bag in my crusade against street fairs. It seems that Manhattanites hate them (I am joined by Sue Goren, fellow NYU alum) and outerborough parents of small children love them. </p> <p>Street fairs are also not all "wine and roses" or should i saiy "zeppole and silk flowers" for the vendors. One pair in the article is trying to make lemonade of lemons (literally) and is not having much luck turning a profit.</p> <p>So, if it isn't such good business for the vendors, and the neighbors hate them, then why are we plagues by them? Perhaps teh non profits and charities that "sponsor" the street fairs need to get a little feedback from their community.</p> <p>And here is a little back of the envelope math: according to the article, the charities net between $1000 and $15,000 from these events, there are 388 total, so if we assume that the average net is something like $5k, that is about $2 million total. Why not just set up a fund for these charities and they can make an application for funding. I bet that delivery companies and private citizens alike would contribute to such a fund, a <i>Community Chest</i> if you will. It is literally 25 cents each from all the 8 million people in new york.</p>