Dear Editor:
Of all the foolish, bureaucratic time-wasting that can happen in this county, the recent harassment of the Bayonne gallery Dollhaus II might set a new standard.
Based on recent reports, the owner Emma Louise has been bullied by city officials for placing pink mannequins outside her local gallery. Because of some zoning misunderstanding, the owner has been forced to close down and reconsider doing business in Bayonne.
Surely, if Louise broke some rule because it wasn’t a traditional sign or exterior decoration and could only remedy this through a board decision or incur fines to financially break the business, then the system is wrong. What kind of signal is this sending to the young professional crowd all these new over-priced apartment buildings are looking to attract?
Bad press and word of mouth from this senseless showdown is more telling than all the roof-top gardens, brick walkways and cute little statues popping up around town. This doesn’t need to be confrontational, somebody at City Hall — maybe the Small Business Program promoted on the official town website — needs to step-up and support a local small business by quickly resolving this.
Henry Woodack
