WOW! I'm a downtown RESIDENT who regularly shops locally. However, after reading about the ABA's response to this decision, I think I'll go to the mall...AFTER I shop at the "Stepping Out for Breast Cancer" venue. How LUDICROUS to believe that crafters will truly compete with the downtown businesses. If the ABA is so concerned about the money they've spent on advertising - they should use the charity's 'coat tail ride' as a tax deduction! You want to wrap presents/purchases at the Market House - go ahead now that it'll be open. Finally, I've been made incredibly angy and disgusted by the ABA and this indeed, will impact my future shopping habits.

Really Chris? You've missed the point entirely. It IS about helping others; it IS about giving back. I worked with David Alexander of Annapolis to raise more than $80,000 for "Stepping Out for Breast Cancer" last year, and I volunteered my services. You can be sure my FIRST stop tomorrow night will be Market House. Downtown Annapolis stores, is this THE guy you want speaking for you??

Hi Mary,
I appreciate your passion and I hope to provide some background to clarify the concerns. I have been the Coordinator of Midnight Madness for 11 of the past 12 years. Mr. O’Neill has absolutely no ill will toward ‘Stepping Out for Breast Cancer’. This is about a disappointing situation caused by the City which does impact the local merchants as well as all the charities we had to turn away from public fundraising/sales.
This year alone, I had to turn down 7 requests from other worthwhile local causes for fundraising opportunities in public places. Vending is typically not permitted in public spaces in Annapolis and even if we can get that waived, we must allow all these groups if we allow one. I had to say no to some very handsome young men this year, a boy scout troop wanted to sell their delicious chocolate caramel corn to raise money….if you needed to buy a tasty hostess gift, and you spent $20 on a tin, you are not going into Kilwin’s or Uncle Bob’s Fudge Shop to buy a box of chocolates. If a shopkeeper were to allow them inside their store to sell, that is perfectly fine and we’d be thrilled that it worked out. Last year a charity asked if they could sell raffle tickets, we had to say no to that….when I explained why, they asked, “what can we do?”…we made up a different plan, Stan & Joe’s donated some space to allow customers to pose for Bad Christmas Sweater photos in return for a donation to the charity, they raised almost $1000.

If the crafts were set up inside the old Fawcetts building, no problem, that is private property…We’d be happy to include that in the press releases.
Several months ago, we began the process to secure the necessary permits from the city, and all that goes along with that. I alerted WRNR and WNAV that they must secure special permits in order to put up a simple tailgate style tent on city property. We all have “day jobs” and have spent most nights and weekends working on these 2 events. It’s a labor of love. We enjoy living in a strong and vibrant Annapolis and it all starts with a thriving business community. If you buy a precious handmade dog collar at one of the craft booths, you will not go into Paws Pet Boutique to buy one. If you buy a lovely knit sweater at the crafters booth, you will not go into Irish Traditions or Alpaca to look for one. If you buy sterling silver earrings, you won’t go to the big sale at Augustine’s tomorrow night. Every penny counts for small business.
The public space should be open to all the charities that come to us or none of them. It needs to be fair for everyone (including the event sponsors and producer’s) The goods and services available via the charities should not be the same goods and services that are offered at our stores.

This is not about denying a charity the ability to raise funds, this is about taking a sucker punch from City Hall. If you would like to join our small committee next year and help in adding a larger charity umbrella to this, Mary, we would welcome your energy, passion and time.
Right now it feels like the only appropriate response to future requests would be “who do you know in city hall that can sneak one by for you?”
Respectfully,
Judy

The issue here is that a special request was made by an Alderman or Alderwoman and because he/she is in public office, the rules were circumnavigated for this group. I volunteer gobs of time to non-profits and fully understand how difficult it is to raise funds, but the rules are the rules and they are to be followed. Someone took advantage of their position in public office here and that is not fair to all the other non-profits in town...or the businesses that pay taxes...and at much higher rates than resident.

This is just one of the many reasons I who am a long time resident of this city will not spend a penny on any business downtown. All they the business community can do is complain about everything. Come on. A non-profit trying to do some good or a bunch of greedy business' trying to line there pockets. I choose the non-profit every single time. You business owners downtown are your own worst enemies. Just driving more nails in your own coffins. Oh well. Sooner you all are gone the better. Maybe the city can get a group of decent business people downtown who will actually sell products the people want and need. Merry Christmas to you all.

Mary,
I am also a resident and a merchant on Main St. My problem isn't with a charity that has co-existed with Midnight Madness for years, but with a city who can do as it pleases when it pleases. What happens if Mallinoff decides to put a charity disco event in Market House next year with loud music and free beer until 3:00 am? My guess is that it is his sole discretion. My guess is also that Market House will probably be empty then too;) I wish that the charity would have come to businesses earlier and contributed towards marketing and advertising of the event together. It would have added to the Midnight Madness event if they had. My small business put in thousands towards advertising and marketing for this event. This isn't to "line my pockets" (as the above idiot alluded too), but to support an event that is good for the town and the community. It is my favorite downtown event of the year. While my business isn't a charity, I do have the privilege of providing five Annapolis residents with salaries and health benefits for themselves and their families. This is something I am very proud of. I'm pretty sure that Westfield Mall could care less about a vibrant and safe downtown Annapolis or a charity event for that matter. I do hope you will continue to support downtown businesses and residents. Thank you and Happy Holidays.

Fact of the matter is that O'Neil comes off sounding petty and if his gripe truly represents the opinion of small business owners in downtown Annapolis, I am not sure I want to give "you" my support anymore... This is a holiday event, good will to men, love thy neighbor, all of that stuff... If he wanted the Market space he should have inquired. As a consumer, the more things to see and buy downtown the bigger the draw... Good for the City.

To me, this highlights a broader problem that I'm sure many of us wonder about: Why does a town with such an educated (and generally affluent) population have such an incompetent city government? Yes, we all have been laughing about the Market House situation for a decade now, but when you put the humor aside, it's truly emblematic of the ineptitude of our elected leaders. No property owners association would get away with this level of buffoonery, but because it's the city government, we've grown accustomed to shrugging our shoulders and letting these guys slide?

R Chris. Are you really trying to tell us that this is not about what moneys you make during this event? You make yourself sound like a Idiot when you say that this is about the city. Even though the city has shown for years that they are completely incapable of running a lemonade stand it is still a city owned property. Would you rather it sit empty for another ten years so you will not have competition? What a silly petty little money grabbing thing to show the people who keep you and your 5 employees working. As i stated before not one business in that area will receive a dime from me solely because of attitudes like yours. Try doing something for the community like the non-profits who are trying to make the lives of the others better. This should make you happy. Maybe because of the nonprofit being in the market for 1 night it will bring more shoppers to that area. I guess you just don't care about that. Merry Christmas!

Annapolischatter just posted a great article that sums up the sentiment towards of the City of Annapolis and this event.. They reference some of the people who were in this article and who commented on this post. This really isn't about the non-profits. They unfortunately are the ones stuck in the middle.

Sean. Don't worry about responding to people like Safety First. You can't win with them. They know everything about everything. I read a few of the previous posts by this person. Absurd rambling.

Lots of "inside baseball" on display here, plus the usual grammatical snarks, doubtless exchanged among Annapolis regulars. But we newcomers do find problems with the selection available on offer in downtown and rarely shop there, even with the convenience of free parking. Very little of what I need on a regular basis, other than Tru-Value or Mills and the occasional restaurant or bar, is available there. This observation is I realize off-subject a bit, but still worthy of attention.

The ABA never seems to mind yet another junk t-shirt shop or tourist novelty shop full of yet more "crabby" garbage. Do they really think a charitable craft sale will "detract" from the majority of worthless junk stores downtown? Downtown shopping is about as unique as you'll find in any strip mall....now I know why.

Jenny's point is that several shops in downtown Annapolis may well appeal to upscale tourists and occasional gift-hunters, but what about residents who have daily needs? How about a decent bakery? It's Whole Foods (and limited there) or nothing if you crave decent bread. How about a deli that does NOT sell Boars Head but does sell fresh mozzarella and aged grana? How about a butcher that carries regular and fine cuts, takes orders, and gives lessons in breaking down a carcass? Can everyone in the historic district and much of Eastport be happy with driving distances for mediocre provisions or worse? Were a couple stores along these or similar lines to open, other merchants would have much more local traffic. Now, it's a zero-sum game with the malls. Boutiques are not the definitive answer to downtown's retail take.

Some folks have gotten this right, but many do not. It is entirely possible for the charity to be worthwhile and yet:

for the legally-prescribed process to decide to have been trampled by the city (an issue regardless of the worth of the charity)

OR

for the legally-prescribed process to have been followed to the letter, but for that process to be hopelessly flawed and unaccountable to the taxpayer (also a problem regardless of the charity).

When the city's representative says: "We thought it was a worthy nonprofit, and that was the decision we made" as Mallinoff did, EVERYONE should be concerned that the city government is doing whatever it wants, willy-nilly, with OUR property.

Which has nothing to do with the particular charity in question. What costs were incurred to make the decision, to open the building, to provide the added security, to close the building, to pay for the lighting, etc? What damages were done? What liability did we risk had someone gotten injured? Etc, etc.

That Market House is OURS. Suppose Malinoff wanted to let a buddy live there for a week. Sounds like he'd do it if he thought he could get away with it. Does anyone honestly think the city government cares a lick what we, the residents, think about any issue so long as they feel comfortable that they can stay in power?

I'm pretty sure there's a special place in hell for people who talk about breast cancer survivors "riding their coattails" and "taking away their business." What a load of pathetic, small town nonsense.