Take Action: Sign the Petition to Preserve Historic Eastern Market

The petition to preserve DC\'s Eastern Market has received another signature!

Petition to Mayor Muriel Bowser with copies to thirteen City Council members and Keith Anderson, Director of General Services.

I request that the District of Columbia officials take immediate action to enforce DC Code, Section 37, to ensure that Eastern Market remains an authentic, historic, fresh food market with original arts and crafts on weekends.

Eastern Market, a beloved Capitol Hill institution, is again facing a challenge of preserving its 145-year tradition as a fresh food market with outdoor original arts and crafts vendors on weekends. Mismanagement, violations of DC Code, Section 37, Eastern Market Management and Regulation, and lack of budget transparency have taken a toll.

The first step in improving conditions at the Market is compliance with DC Code. Eastern Market Management and Regulation law (§§ 37-101-37-113), which calls for:

• Market management contracted to a not-for-profit association or corporation having experience operating an historic urban fresh food or farmers’ market (§§ 37-105).
• A market manager with experience relevant to running an urban fresh food or farmers market (§§ 37-101).
• Actual farmers to sell their locally grown produce 9 (§§ 37-101).
• Handcrafted goods and artwork, that are the original work of the vendor (§§ 37-101).
• Limitations for imported handcrafted and indigenous goods including the requirement that the vendor be the importer of those crafts (§§ 37-101).
• DC to pay for capital improvements ((§§ 37-102).
• An Enterprise Fund to receive revenues and proceeds from whatever source on behalf of Eastern Market and to be used for management and maintenance of Eastern Market and for no other purpose (§§ 37-103).
• Written leases (§§ 37-107).

Second step is fiscal accountability, which includes:

• Consolidated DC budget line
• Timely requests for capital improvements
• Transparent budget process from comprehensive monthly reports to annual audits
• Financial accountability
• Meaningful public involvement

I urge you to ensure that on its 150th anniversary in 2023, Eastern Market will still be true to its roots as a high quality, diverse, locally owned fresh food market that is the heart of Capitol Hill.

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