Constant Spring Market vendors lament dim future

Vendors in the Constant Spring Market, once the place of choice for fresh produce in upper St Andrew, are in despair because of an uncertain future.

Members of this micro-enterprise community have found themselves locked in a legal dispute with the Kingston and

St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) over plans to relocate them to facilitate the sale of the market. This is to allow for the widening of Constant Spring Road as part of the Government's road-improvement 'Legacy Project'.

Earlier this month, attorney for the vendors, Bert Samuels, noted that they were still trying to amicably resolve the issue with the KSAMC after the Supreme Court decided against extending the injunction obtained by vendors at Constant Spring Market barring the Government from evicting them.

Speaking recently with The Gleaner, Gwendolyn Bailey, a produce vendor for more than 40 years, somberly spoke of the ongoing disruptions to her sole means of livelihood.

"I started selling here with my mother, and she died 17 years now. They want to throw us out just like that, no compensation, no alternative [locations] in the area. We don't appreciate that. I can no longer work for people and this is all I know," she related.

Bailey also lamented the declining number of shoppers, which she believes results from the announcement of plans to sell the market last year, a sentiment shared by other occupants of the premises.

"Since them make the announcement last year, shoppers have been staying away because they feel the market will be demolished. Every week, I have to struggle to make ends meet," Bailey said.

It is not only produce vendors who are being affected. Duvaro Baker, a shop operator on the premises for 20 years, has had to cope with the unwillingness of suppliers to extend credit to his business.

"I lost all my suppliers. They said they cannot give me the goods as usual because the market will be demolished," he recounted. "My wife and I are now struggling to keep up with our loan payments. A lot of business people are stressed out and we don't know what to do. We used to employ people in the shop and we had to send them home."

... resist relocation to other markets

Tenants at the Constant Spring Market in St Andrew are opposed to the suggestion by the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) to relocate to other markets in the Corporate Area. Vendors cite the further loss of their loyal customers and the fear of violence as strong deterrents to moving.

Beverley Baugh, a produce vendor for 16 years, does not see herself continuing elsewhere. "I could not start over at a different place. The few customers that are left, they come here because they live nearby. If they demolish the market, that would be it for me. I'd have to try something else," Baugh lamented.

Bailey echoed similar feelings towards the thought of relocation.

"When the guns start firing downtown, where will I run to? I don't know anybody there. Which of my customers will come and buy from me in Papine, or Stony Hill? There is space in Constant Spring and we would like to stay here," Bailey insisted.

For the occupants of the premises, a resolution cannot come soon enough.