ja_mageia

WASHINGTON, DC--Liberty Farmers Market, which opened Tuesdays last fall on the grounds of the Historical Society of Washington, DC (HSW) at Mount Vernon Square near the corner of 7th & K Sts. NW, has "been suspended indefinitely" after being raided and closed down by D. C. Government when it reopened for the season Tuesday, March 9.

Michael Berman, president of Diverse Markets Management (DMM), a DC firm contracted by HSW to manage the market, announced the suspension today.

"We're disappointed that the effort to create quality markets at the location has been at least temporarily derailed," said Berman, who noted that the site had housed a market in the 19th Century before the building of the Carnegie Library, which now houses HSW.

He said the raid involved both federal park and local police and the D.C. Department of Regulatory and Consumer Affairs, which cited permitting issues for the closure. "DMM tried to work through the issues this week but ran into a complicated maze of jurisdictional overlap," Berman said.

"Unfortunately the mess will probably also derail plans to open other open-air markets both at HSW and in other city neighborhoods," Berman lamented. "But we know neighborhoods want to start outdoor markets and vendors want additional locations, so we'll continue to try to work with the City."