UPDATE: Quality Taxi Stand vendors served notices to remove
Vendors at the Crafts Alive Village had complained bitterly at a meeting held with Minister for Communications and Works Hon. Mark H. Vanterpool in December 2013 that they were asked to remove from the nearby ‘Tent City’ some time ago even as the other vendors remained.
The Fourth District Representative, Hon. Vanterpool, had promised to have the situation addressed by year end and vendors at the Crafts Alive Village were reportedly becoming agitated after seeing no change in the situation at the turn of the New Year.
The vendors at the Crafts Alive Village had argued that the situation was unfair and reported to this news site that cruise ship passengers were taking their business to the Quality Taxi Stand vendors instead of shopping at the Crafts Alive Village.
According to sources, the Quality Taxi Stand vendors have been served notices of removal by a bailiff and some, who allegedly also have booths at the Crafts Alive Village, have already removed while others have remained. There were reportedly at least four separate vendors who have remained at the Quality Taxi Stand area to vend.
The vendors at the Quality Taxi Stand area had reportedly been leasing the spaces from a landlord who owned property in the area and were not considered to be dwelling illegally as ‘Tent City’ vendors were seen to be doing. However, many at the Quality Taxi Stand had opted to display their merchandises outside of their buildings to increase their attraction and this did not sit well with other vendors at the Crafts Alive Village.
Attempts to contact Hon. Vanterpool for a comment on the issue proved unsuccessful up to post time.
See previous story published on December 5, 2013:
‘We want them removed now’-Crafts Alive vendors
- Crafts Alive vendors want persons selling next to the former tent city, close to the cruise ship dock, removed; Minister for Communications & Works promises matter will be addressed by year end
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI- Vendors at the Crafts Alive Village had a feisty meeting with the Minister for Communications and Works and Fourth District Representative Honourable Mark H. Vanterpool on November 3, 2013 at the grounds of the Crafts Alive Village in Road Town, the Virgin Islands’ capital city.
City Manager Mrs Janis Brathwaite-Edwards, who introduced the Minister to the vendors, also said she wants the vendors to continue to “step up to the plate and even keep your businesses open late during the Christmas season”.
Minister Vanterpool promises to address vending by Quality Taxi
Minister Vanterpool told the vendors he is committed to addressing the issues the vendors have. He told them he has hired a consultant in his Ministry to try to get the entire City of Road Town more active and alive and Main Street connected to Crafts Alive and how they can get more people to spend at the Crafts Alive Village.
However, the vendors at Crafts Alive remained outraged that after they were asked to move from vending at what was referred to as ‘tent city’ outside the cruise ship dock, there are still persons vending in that area at the Quality Taxi stand site.
The vendors demanded that those persons be removed and that activity stop as it's unfair competition to them who were asked to leave the area.
Minister Vanterpool assured them that the matter will be addressed by year end and he had a meeting last week with the landlord for the building. He said the landlord rents spaces to different persons and he intended to stop the activity outside the building.
However, he also warned them that he might be limited in what he can do.
Vendors also lashed out at Minister Vanterpool for what they see as unfair where some vendors were allowed to make physical changes to their booth [at least one] such as putting in a special glass door, air condition and the likes. Hon. Vanterpool claimed to be not aware that this took place and said that it is wrong as whoever did that needed to get permission first, as no physical changes should be made to the booths without permission from authorities.
Long laundry list of complaints
Since the Crafts Alive Village was completed and opened in February of this year costing tax payers over 1.2 million dollars, which is one of the signature projects of the Fourth District Representative Hon. Vanterpool, vendors have had a long list of issues.
Vendors at the Crafts Alive Village reported that the spaces are too small and crowed, when it rains some of the booths are flooded, lack of sales, and taxi drivers not looping in the area as part of their tours, not much locally made craft, along with high rent being charged to the vendors.
It remains unclear what is the rent structure for the booths at Crafts Alive, revenues collected and who has paid thus fair. Many residents were shocked to learn of the price tag for the project, which started out at seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000) and ended up to be over 1.2 million dollars.
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52 Responses to “UPDATE: Quality Taxi Stand vendors served notices to remove”
Mrs. Brathwaite for how things going now with the crime, the poor vendors will have to be very careful when it comes to having their doors open late in the night, only unless they are promised protection from the RVIPF.
If you have no idea what or how they are allowed to be there STFU. The Govt has them there they pay rent for being there. ITS NTTN ILLEGA and few of those same vendors that are by the gate has a spot at craft alive..... And y the hell they need to sell more local merchandise really how much more local u want them to be.... fr!*gin idiot
money back home...they really don't care about the BVI. and all they
talk about is how wonderful their island or country is...i have always felt
that if all non belongers would go home...all...white, black, what ever
then there would be a rude awaking...interesting thought...
Do they have trade licences?
If so I don't understand what the problem is, or is it because they are not from here and had the sense to go in a proper building rather than selling out of a tent for all those years?
I mean since Bobby's close, that parking lot has turned into a market square. Are those people legally vending there?? Who gives them permission to just set up there like a market when they feel like??
These are things that concern me. I mean tourists walk all around Road Town. Besides tourists, I live here and I am wondering what in the world is going on in Road Town???
If the city Manager truly is on duty, she has ALOT of work to be done and IMMEDIATELY!!
To REAL BIG MAN WHO EVER YOU ARE PLESAE GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT AND STOP MISLEADING THE PUBLIC. HUSH YOU DONT HAVE A. CLUE TO WHAT IS GOING ON PLEASE..........fisrt of all let me put it to you.all those venders are the very same people who wre under those tent. For some time the goverment were saying the veders had to leavepack up and go. Plesae here well. Thank you.xxx. some had no way to go so we stayed and do business as usual. someone saw an opputunity to make ome money so they start adding to the said taxi stand place to rent. Any how the venders necer move. These very same venders took it on them self and rent spaces to see how they could still make extra money by renting anther space to sell goods WHILE THESE SAME VENDERS STILL HAD A SPOT UNDER THE TENTS II CALL THIS DOUBLE DIPPING YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU CALLTHIS? IS THIS RIGTH?.while they have two space some had one. ONE OF THE VERY SAME VENDER ALONG WITH RELATIVES ERECT A BUILDING IN AFEW DAYS NOT EVEN THE GOVERMENT TOWN AND PLANING WICKHAMS CAY DEVELOPEMENT KNEW THIS HAPPEN WHEN THEY FIND OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON THEY WENT TO HAVE THE REMOVE SAYING THIS IS NOT RIGHT TO THE BUILDER AND WHO EVER PUT DOWN A BUILDING WITH OUT THEPROPER CHANNEL THEY REFUSE TO MOVE.AND START TOBE HATERS BECAUSE THE OTHER VENDER WREE CRING OUT.WHERE THEY COME FROM THEY CANT DO THESE THINGS ..WHY SHUOLD THEY BE ALLOW TO DO THESE OF THINGS IN OUR COUNTRY. THIS ABSOLUTELY WRONG AND THEY HAE ALL RIGHT TO MAKE NOISE AND EVEN PROTEST I KNOW THESE WOMEN THEY ARE NOT THE TAXI MEN GROUP. THEY MEAN BUSINESS.WHY THESE VENDER HAVE TWO SPACE WHEN SOME OF OUR LOCALS NEED A SPACE TO DO BUSINESS TO IT DOSENT GIVE RIGHT TO SHORT OTHERS..........TO QUESTION DO YOU KNOW THAT THESE VERY SAME VENDER WHO YOU CLAIM TO HAVE SO MANY STOCK ARE THE SAME VENDERS THAT ARE ASLSO SELLING AT CRAFTALIVE NEW BUILDINGS IF YOU DONT KNOW ASK THE CITY MANAGER AND HON. MARK VANTERPOOL AND THESE VERY SAME HAVE INTENTION OF MOVING NOT FROM EITHER CRAFALIVE OR THE DOCK OF THE TAXI STAND WHO THE HELL THEY THINK THEY ARE THIS NOT JAMAICA THEY ARE THE RING LEADERS AND EVER ONE FOLLOWS THIS IS NOT CATEL.. THE NEED TO GO.MAN WE THE POPLE WILL HELP CRATALIVE FIGHT THEM. .............. MARK NEEDS TO GET SERIOUS. NOT EVEN IF THE LAND LORD IS IS NUMBER. ONE SUPORTER. TELL OPEN A RESTAURANT SO THE TOURIST CAN HAVE LOCAL FOOD AND LET THEM VENDERS STAY OVER CRAFTSLIVE .IN THEIR OTHER SHOP. ICAN REMEMBER LAST YEAR WHEN THE VENDERS HAD TO MOVE AND BE PLACE AT CRAFT ALIVE NOVERBER 28 2012. THSE VERY SAME VENDERS WERE IN THE MIX WITH THE OTHERS VENDERS AND TWO NEW VENDERS /BVI--
MISS LADYSOME OMEY:
I CAN SEE THAT FIRSTLY YOU DID NOT FINISH SCHOOL BECAUSE YOU CAN'T EVEN SPELL. THE REAL PROBLEM I SEE HERE IS THAT YOU ARE JEALOUS OF THESE PEOPLE!! IF THIS BUILDING WAS ERECTED ILLEGALLY HOW COME IT IS STILL THERE?? ARE YOU STUPID OR SOMETHING?? NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD JUST PUT UP A BUILDING AND BEGIN OPERATION WITHOUT PERMISSION. YOU NEED TO GET YOUR FACTS TOGETHER BECAUSE YOU ON HERE MAKING AN "$$ OF YOURSELF!!I KNOW FOR SURE THAT THE SAME LADY YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT & HER HUSBAND WHO BY THE WAY HAPPENS TO BE FROM HERE GOT PERMISSION TO PUT UP THAT BUILDING. YOU TALKING ABOUT JAMAICANS?? IF IT WASN'T FOR THE SAME JAMAICANS AND ISLAND PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP 70% OF BVI POPULATION YOUR COUNTRY WILL BE NOTHING. I JUST WISH ALL OF THEM CAN ONE DAY DECIDE TO GO BACK HOME JUST TO PUNISH SOME OF YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING TOLIAN A$$ H$%%S!!LETS SEE WHO WILL RENT YOUR HOUSES, BUILD YOUR DAM HOUSES, TEACH YOUR CHILDREN ETC NOT TO FORGET WHERE YOU ALL WOULD GET FOOD FROM TO EAT SINCE YOU THINK TORTOLA IS THE SH!T!! MR VANTERPOOL BETTER BE CAREFUL HOW HE GOES ABOUT THIS ISSUE BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE INVESTED HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS IN THEIR BUSINESSES FOR THE SEASON AND WAS GIVEN PERMISSION TO OPERATE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AND AS FAR AS I KNOW THAT TIME IS NOT NOW!! BY THE WAY I HAPPEN TO BE FROM THE BVI AND I REALLY AM DISGUSTED WITH THE WAY WE TREAT PERSONS FROM THE OTHER CARIBBEAN ISLANDS!!
Perhaps you guys need to work helping out with the census; maybe then they might finish the project and people can stop talking none sense about who is from here and who is not, especially at Craft Alive.
THe vendors at the entrance of the dock is on someone else property that they are paying rent for not govt whoever have a problem need go kick rocks
NDP must go!!!
Miss city manager----please do somethings about how thise venders have the city of road town . There at the craftalive village those venders have the place looking so getto man. When they started out st first the plave was looking so sweetnwith its lustrusr t building and beautifull colors. Something really needs to be done with the haning outside with all them clothes . Isee this kind of things. In other island in their shanty. Shack and under tents. The better the gaverment had leave the sellers under the tent at tent city why the hell youall bring them in the heart of the city to do the same thing again. They need to get some pride and what is right .. I was one on the consulting team and the least say no cloths hanging in the outside. Venders need to display their products properly inside this will alow visitors and tourist to go in the shops to vieww what every have. With equally oppertunity for sale not trying to cut each other throat. This not tent city mark and city manager get this right fast or I will take it to the next level.------------ a jod well done with the taxi stand venders right is right. In their country they have to abide by the rule or police get them