Greene selectmen are wrong to ban yard sales and flea markets. I doubt if they or many residents have stopped to study the ordinance in its entirety. Many residents are in violation of the severe restrictions, allowing only three days of sales per year.
For decades, several individuals in town operated very small, very quiet, very safe flea markets/lawn sales. Now, they are shuttered, or openly defying the ban, risking heavy fines.
Would other businesses in Greene take it laying down if told overnight to be closed most of the week, and all tables and merchandise moved back indoors at 6 p.m.?
As it is, I tried compliance with all the selectmen’s conflicting, whimsical, ever-changing demands, even as other officials told me something different. Their myriad requirements have become expensive and impossible to meet, despite my valiant efforts and willingness to cooperate.
Now, it will take a court of law to hear out all issues, and the poor taxpayers again pick up the tab for mounting legal fees.
Who am I hurting in trying to sell items roadside, as was done for decades?
The ordinance is an example of the “nanny state” run amok. The new law hamstrings anyone daring to sell items on their own premises.
Cher once sang, “My father bought me a second-hand store. Now all the townsfolk, they laugh at me. But someday, I’ll get on a jet plane and fly away.”
‘Til then, it is no business as usual, and I do intend double meanings.
George Stanley, Greene
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