The grievances of individual vendors against last
year's Atlanta Olympic street vending program is examined by
Roger Thurow this morning on the front page of the WALL
STREET JOURNAL. Thurow: "What is certain is that, while the
program put millions collectively in the coffers of the city
and the program's chief organizers, the Olympic legacy for
many small businesspeople is that they lost their shirts."
Two separate lawsuits have been filed against the city and
vending program organizers on behalf of 120 people, both
asking for damages in excess of $20M. The program gave
vendors the opportunity to pay at least $10,000 for assigned
spots on the street, but some streets designated for vending
were "suddenly closed by Olympic traffic officials or choked
with police security barriers," blocking off potential
customers. The "touted exclusivity" was also "nullified" by
"hundreds of other hawkers who had cheaply purchased last-
minute permits to sell on private property" such as store
fronts or parking lots. Thurow adds the city and program
organizers "heatedly deny any responsibility; they say they
made no guarantees of crowds or profits and, while
sympathetic to those who did poorly, believe many of the
vendors contributed to their own problems" (WSJ, 7/24).
