By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter 

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Downtown Nassau Partnership’s (DNP) managing director yesterday expressed “extreme disappointment” over the placing of Junkanoo bleachers on Bay Street so far ahead of the parade, arguing that it “looks like a prison rather than a city centre”.

Ed Fields, in a statement, said: “Downtown looks, as it has looked for the past decade this time of year, like a prison block as opposed to what a city centre should look like for the holiday season.”

He blamed the frequent conflict between the Junkanoo bleachers and Bay Street/downtown Nassau merchants, many of whom rely heavily on the Christmas season for the bulk of their annual profits and revenue, on a “lack of organisation and the inability for government to make timely decisions”.

“We approached government with a solution very early this year, but the process one must go through with respect to change is vexing to say the least,” Mr Fields said.

“An RFP (Request for Proposal) should have been sent out by the second quarter at the latest, but did not go out until it was too late to attract other bidders. This is no longer an issue of commerce versus Junkanoo.

“Frankly, it has all been to the detriment of the retail business for the past decade or so. It is now time for a balanced approach. It can no longer be about a benefit to one set of stakeholders over another. It can be win-win for all.”

According to Mr Fields, the DNP proposed a bleacher solution to the Government last year, but “between the snail-like pace of process and a change in leadership at the Ministry of Culture, time simply ran out”.

“I can assure you that this will not be the case next year, even if I have to find funding for the bleacher solution personally,” he added. “It used to be where stores decorated their windows and there was a competition that everyone looked forward to. Now, what’s the use? Shoppers are caged in for weeks prior to the parade, and a large portion of Bay Street looks more like a prison that a city centre.”

Mr Fields added: “There are bleachers than can be rolled in and folded up the night before the parades, and towed away after the parades. We have contacted experts and offered to bring them in at our expense, and you can bet we will do it next year starting in January.

“We are satisfied that we will work favourably with the Ministry of Culture, like we did with the erection of the Christmas tree this year, to ensure that the Christmas spirit is returned to Bay Street.”

Echoing Mr Fields’s sentiments one retailer told Tribune Business: “It’s the same thing every year with the bleachers. I mean business downtown is bad enough. Locals don’t want to come mainly because the parking situation is such a headache and then the tourists who come off the ship aren’t spending any money like that. Now it’s like we’re boxed in and junkanoo is days away.”