Bummerfest
The city and ART are killing the biggest event of the season for scores of Nob Hill businesses
Once again, the Journal is printing half-truths from the city regarding the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project in the article “City: ART work in Nob Hill will be done by Summerfest” on May 30. This article is full of praise for the construction teams and the city for allowing Summerfest to take place on Central between Girard and Carlisle. But the facts are these: 1) Nob Hill extends from Girard to Washington — note the big neon arches designating the district at these cross streets.
2) For the past seven years Summerfest has been celebrated from Girard to Washington, with live music at both ends.
3) Summerfest is the largest event in Nob Hill and is for many merchants, myself included, the best day of sales all year.
4) We Nob Hill merchants were promised, in meetings last year, that Summerfest would not be disrupted.
How is leaving out half of Nob Hill not disruptive?
The beer garden, car show and music stages that have been between Carlisle and Washington for seven years will somehow be jammed into the already packed area between Girard and Carlisle. For this mess-to-be the city is praising the construction teams and completely ignoring the east half of Nob Hill.
In addition, for the last seven years my store has sponsored a craft fair in our parking lot for 30 to 40 local vendors. This has been a great opportunity for the public to meet and shop with small-time crafts people and even get a massage by donation. But this event can only succeed on the one day a year that thousands of people are walking by my shop to visit the beer garden at Montclaire or the music stage at Washington. None of this will happen under this year’s half-size plan for Summerfest. The craft fair will have to be cancelled.
Many shop owners of East Nob Hill were originally more supportive of ART because our relatively depressed area was promised new landscaping and sidewalks and other aid that we are still waiting for. In fact, sidewalk work is repeatedly postponed or even eliminated from the schedule. Zero trees have been planted thus far to replace our denuded landscape. After many months of depressed business, now we see that the east half of Nob Hill will even be deprived of our best day of the year.
By the way, Summerfest takes place Saturday, July 22. These construction crews never work on weekends anyway. Once again small local businesses are being hurt by the city and ART construction. Route 66 Summerfest should be extended east, as it has been since 2010, to all of Nob Hill.