Burlington, Vermont’s mayor is calling on the City Council to reconsider its passage of a resolution last week aimed at quality-of-life concerns.
More than 150 businesses wrote to mayor about “deteriorating conditions” in the downtown and asking for action to address public drug use and antisocial behavior. A resolution to address the concerns included a clause that the city will help relocate Food Not Cops, a food distribution effort for the unhoused in the Marketplace Garage. During the council’s meeting, Ward 6 Democrat Becca Brown McKnight noted that a potential move has been in discussion for over a year.
“We are simply requesting a firm deadline and offering significant funds of $2,000 for a move to an improved location ideally with running water and a bathroom,” McKnight explained.
But Ward 8 Progressive Marek Broderick opposed the proposal.
“I simply cannot support giving a deadline compelling them to relocate their food distribution operation,” Broderick said.
In a statement Tuesday, first-term Progressive Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak noted “some in our community have taken harmful actions, deepening a conflict between mutual aid providers and our downtown small business owners.” She cites a fake press release purportedly from her office mocking food distribution in the city and a fake letter claiming to be from businesses that includes harmful language.