01-07-2010, 03:48 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-07-2010, 03:51 PM by Bernice Moore.)
oct; 1997
Since last May, the Sixth Floor has been working with the city's Park and Recreation Department to develop an agreement for the museum "to manage Dealey Plaza," Jeff West, executive director of the museum, told the Morning News. He was then quoted as saying, "We hope our presence will rid the plaza of most of the conspiracy theorists and others of that kind there."
That last statement was all the evidence the vendors needed to believe that the Sixth Floor was somehow behind the sudden police presence on the plaza and their own mounting legal problems. Although West claims he was misquoted--"I never said it publicly or privately," he says--and insists his operation has not instigated the ticketing of the vendors, he makes no bones about the museum wanting its own presence on the plaza.
"We have had complaints from visitors about being harassed, accosted, and just confused by who these vendors are," West says. "At the museum, we strive to portray balance. The challenge in the plaza is that they are presenting only one point of view. We want to provide some balance out there as well."
West says that the Sixth Floor, which attracts only a quarter as many tourists as Dealey Plaza does, wants to put a kiosk on the plaza where it can sell film and maps and offer guided tours. But in fact, its intentions are more far-reaching than that. The Dallas County Historical Foundation, which runs the Sixth Floor Museum, wants to be "the exclusive manager" for the plaza, responsible for "operating, vending, leasing and servicing duties," according to documents the foundation filed with the city.
The Sixth Floor may want to rule the plaza, but not all the vendors believe the museum is responsible for instigating the ticketing. A small vendor faction, as well as some people associated with the museum, think that the complaints have been lodged from some jealous vendors intent on eliminating the competition. At least one vendor blames another vendor partial to the Oswald-as-lone-gunman theory of the assassination for siccing the police on the conspiracy theorists.
Regardless of what prompted the policing of the plaza, the vendors say the city is not playing fair. The Dallas City Code contains a confusing ordinance on street vendors that requires them to be permitted in certain circumstances.
However, the vendors claim they have had trouble getting straight answers from the city about how to go about obtaining a permit. While some see this as part of the conspiracy as well, it is probably more a function of bureaucratic ineptitude.
The city has instructed some of the vendors to contact the Health Department, which provides a limited number of vending permits for the Central Business District, including areas around the School Book Depository but not Dealey Plaza proper, which is governed by the Park Department. All of the Health Department permits available for this part of town, which is considered part of the West End Historic District, have already been issued.
The people who have contacted the Park Department have been given contradictory information. Some have been told they didn't need a permit to sell magazines or videos on the plaza, only to be ticketed anyway. Some were told they could sell printed materials without a permit, but not videos. Others were informed they couldn't sell anything without a permit, but when they inquired about getting one, they were told there weren't any available or were sent to the Health Department, where they came up empty-handed.
The Dallas Observer spent more than a day being transferred from one Park Department staff person to another trying to find someone who was in charge of issuing permits for Dealey Plaza. We finally found the right person--Ralph Mendez, assistant director for the eastern region of the Park Department, who says that the policy governing Dealey Plaza is still being worked out. According to Mendez, a potential Dealey Plaza vendor or tour guide has to submit to the Park Department a detailed proposal, which has to be approved by the Park Board and the City Council. So far the only people who seem to know about that policy are those who work for the Sixth Floor.
Even if the Sixth Floor and the city wanted to see the vendors gone, Jeff West thinks they are probably protected by the constitutional right to free speech. That point has actually crossed the minds of the people who run the Park Department. Not sure whether the city code gives them the right to stop people from selling certain material on the plaza, they recently asked the city attorney's office to research the matter, says Mendez.
Nevertheless, the police continue to roust the conspiracy theorists, even while the kinks in the ordinance are being worked out.
http://www.dallasobserver.com/1997-10-30/news/conspiracy-theory/1
Since last May, the Sixth Floor has been working with the city's Park and Recreation Department to develop an agreement for the museum "to manage Dealey Plaza," Jeff West, executive director of the museum, told the Morning News. He was then quoted as saying, "We hope our presence will rid the plaza of most of the conspiracy theorists and others of that kind there."
That last statement was all the evidence the vendors needed to believe that the Sixth Floor was somehow behind the sudden police presence on the plaza and their own mounting legal problems. Although West claims he was misquoted--"I never said it publicly or privately," he says--and insists his operation has not instigated the ticketing of the vendors, he makes no bones about the museum wanting its own presence on the plaza.
"We have had complaints from visitors about being harassed, accosted, and just confused by who these vendors are," West says. "At the museum, we strive to portray balance. The challenge in the plaza is that they are presenting only one point of view. We want to provide some balance out there as well."
West says that the Sixth Floor, which attracts only a quarter as many tourists as Dealey Plaza does, wants to put a kiosk on the plaza where it can sell film and maps and offer guided tours. But in fact, its intentions are more far-reaching than that. The Dallas County Historical Foundation, which runs the Sixth Floor Museum, wants to be "the exclusive manager" for the plaza, responsible for "operating, vending, leasing and servicing duties," according to documents the foundation filed with the city.
The Sixth Floor may want to rule the plaza, but not all the vendors believe the museum is responsible for instigating the ticketing. A small vendor faction, as well as some people associated with the museum, think that the complaints have been lodged from some jealous vendors intent on eliminating the competition. At least one vendor blames another vendor partial to the Oswald-as-lone-gunman theory of the assassination for siccing the police on the conspiracy theorists.
Regardless of what prompted the policing of the plaza, the vendors say the city is not playing fair. The Dallas City Code contains a confusing ordinance on street vendors that requires them to be permitted in certain circumstances.
However, the vendors claim they have had trouble getting straight answers from the city about how to go about obtaining a permit. While some see this as part of the conspiracy as well, it is probably more a function of bureaucratic ineptitude.
The city has instructed some of the vendors to contact the Health Department, which provides a limited number of vending permits for the Central Business District, including areas around the School Book Depository but not Dealey Plaza proper, which is governed by the Park Department. All of the Health Department permits available for this part of town, which is considered part of the West End Historic District, have already been issued.
The people who have contacted the Park Department have been given contradictory information. Some have been told they didn't need a permit to sell magazines or videos on the plaza, only to be ticketed anyway. Some were told they could sell printed materials without a permit, but not videos. Others were informed they couldn't sell anything without a permit, but when they inquired about getting one, they were told there weren't any available or were sent to the Health Department, where they came up empty-handed.
The Dallas Observer spent more than a day being transferred from one Park Department staff person to another trying to find someone who was in charge of issuing permits for Dealey Plaza. We finally found the right person--Ralph Mendez, assistant director for the eastern region of the Park Department, who says that the policy governing Dealey Plaza is still being worked out. According to Mendez, a potential Dealey Plaza vendor or tour guide has to submit to the Park Department a detailed proposal, which has to be approved by the Park Board and the City Council. So far the only people who seem to know about that policy are those who work for the Sixth Floor.
Even if the Sixth Floor and the city wanted to see the vendors gone, Jeff West thinks they are probably protected by the constitutional right to free speech. That point has actually crossed the minds of the people who run the Park Department. Not sure whether the city code gives them the right to stop people from selling certain material on the plaza, they recently asked the city attorney's office to research the matter, says Mendez.
Nevertheless, the police continue to roust the conspiracy theorists, even while the kinks in the ordinance are being worked out.
http://www.dallasobserver.com/1997-10-30/news/conspiracy-theory/1