Officers removed a group of vendors from Government House Thursday morning after the vendors mistakenly showed up there for a 10 a.m. appointment with St. Thomas Administrator Louis Hill, whose office is just down the street.
Vendors Association President Diane Magras said there was a mix-up on the time and place of the appointment. The vendors, including some who earlier this month had been barred from Drake's Seat, had been directed upstairs by a Government House guard, she said.
After a phone call to Hill's office, it was found the appointment had been canceled unbeknownst to Magras. Hill nonetheless told the party to come over to his office. In the meantime, vendors said, a Government House guard accompanied by three police officers told them they couldn't stay there.
But police spokeswoman Sgt. Annette Raimer said that while police had been called, by the time they arrived the group had been escorted out not by police but by Government House security officers.
Magras, obviously upset, related the story later outside the Legislature building. Enrique Perez, a Drake's Seat vendor who said he has been there for 11 years, confirmed what happened at Government House. He said the subsequent meeting with Hill brought no satisfaction.
"I've paid $75 a month to Housing, Parks and Recreation for the last 10 years, along with all the other vendors," he said. "I have a permit, and I have my receipts."
An official at the Department of Housing, Parks and Recreation said that this year, a dozen vendors from Drake's Seat paid the department for permits. But before 1995, the official said, there was less than half that many vendors paying for permits.
Magras, Perez and several other vendors claim the area offered them at Vendors' Plaza is not workable. It is located in the taxi and other vendors' loading zone, it would be in the way of both taxis and other vendors and is in a flood area, they said.
The vendors spoke with Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, and obtained time to state their concerns on the Senate floor. The vendors stated their displeasure with how they have been treated and asked to return to Drake's Seat.
"We've been out of work for 21 days," Perez said. "It's Christmas. How are we going to feed our families?"
Perez, under questioning by Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole, said their space was on a government easement, not private property. Sen. Adelbert "Bert" Bryan expressed outrage at the manner in which the vendors were being treated by the government. "None of you understand," Bryan said to his colleagues, "They're being treated like god damn slaves." All the senators expressed sympathy with the vendors' plight.
After hearing the vendors, Hansen proposed that the Senate legal counsel draft legislation Thursday afternoon, to be heard before the Omnibus Bill, allowing the vendors to remain at Drake's Seat. The measure passed 11-0 with Sens. Vargrave Richards and Allie-Allison Petrus not voting. Sens. David Jones and Anne Golden were absent.
Government House had no comment on the police matter. V.I. police spokeswoman Sgt. Annette Raimer said late Thursday afternoon that she would try to obtain information on the incident.
Hill said he didn't know of the confrontation at Government House until vendors mentioned it to him in his office, where the met with them about 10:30 a.m. Thursday.
Hill had told Magras Wednesday to call his secretary for a Thursday appointment which she had made, only to discover Hill had another appointment at that time. Calls to Magras early Thursday to reschedule the appointment went unanswered.
Hill expressed regret at the mix-up and wondered whether vendors had been "perhaps confrontational" at Government House.
"They may have thought I was avoiding them, which simply isn't true," he said. Hill said he was sorry the police had to be called.
The meeting with the vendors was "very productive," Hill said. He said he empathized with the vendors. "I know it's a very emotional issue," he said. "It's their right to protest, and I respect that, and it's Christmas and they've been out of work for 21 days."
Regarding the proposed legislation to return them to Drake's Seat, Hill said, "Moving them from Drake's Seat was the governor's decision."
