FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rhetta Peoples or Corey Lamb
Phone: 407 230-7686-Rhetta Peoples
Phone: 321-663-0678-Corey Lamb
City of Orlando claimed to deny several Black owned businesses the opportunity to capitalize during the NBA All-Star Weekend
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – JANUARY 26, 2012 – A meeting involving the NBA, the City of Orlando and 11 Downtown black business owners ended in an upset as business owners were told the NBA and the City of Orlando had agreed to construct an 8-foot black fence outside of their businesses during what is expected to be one of the most highly attended weekends to hit Central Florida in decades. The NBA and the City of Orlando will construct a fence to be used for, what was described to the merchants, as security reasons. Corey Lamb, one of the 11 merchants on Church Street said, “The fence is supposed to have a black cover with NBA images.” According to the description of the fence, it will also block fans from being able to view and patronize their businesses. As a result, the businesses have formed an alliance and are meeting with a high profile attorney this week to discuss how they can exercise their rights as business owners who desperately want to reap some of the benefits of the economic impact of the event. According to the merchants, they caught wind of the construction from other people during routine conversation. Some even claim they found out about it through their beverage distributors. Weeks after the merchants heard the rumors, the City of Orlando and the NBA finally told the merchants about the fence and told them they had two options when it came to the fence blocking their businesses. Merchants say they never had the option of not having the fence altogether. As a result, the merchants asked the city for compensation for not being included in the area festivities. According to Lamb, the city verbally agreed to the compensation package. However, business owners now say the City of Orlando has retracted the offer of compensation. Lamb added, “A local television station has a sound bite of Mayor Dyer saying we opted for Option A however, it does not show him speaking about what Option B was.” Lamb said, Option B still did not offer them full participation in the festivities and limited their involvement. In addition, the City of Orlando plans to shut down the street in front of the merchants from Monday prior to the NBA All-Star Weekend until the Monday following the weekend’s activities. Business owners are concerned this will further hurt their chances of properly operating their businesses to their current customers. Since the fence is supposed to go up between Division and Hughey, only the 11 merchants on Church Street will be affected and the fence will not negatively impact other businesses in the area. Lamb continued, “The street was closed for two years and the city felt the compensation was that the merchants didn’t have to pay rent." The merchants say they were sold on the idea that the Magic will be there, other music events, shows, etc and that it would be profitable for them. However, the business owners complained that the venue allows their corporate sponsors to block the businesses when there is an event there. “They don’t understand that this is how we survive,” Lamb said. The NBA All-Star Weekend is expected to pump $100 million into the local economy. For more information contact Rhetta Peoples at (407) 230-7686 or Corey Lamb at (321) 663-0678.
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Rhetta Peoples
Journalist/Public Relations Specialist
Creative Street Marketing and Public Relations Group
Phone: 407.230.7686
Fax: 407.737.7389
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