ST. CROIX — When Thamara Sleven-Cooper and other vendors set up for a double cruise ship visit during J’ouvert on December 31, 2025 in Frederiksted, they had no idea the Virgin Islands Port Authority was going to deny them access to the restrooms on the pier.
“We are in a situation right now that is not acceptable,” Sleven-Cooper, a vendor of 16 years, said. “We were told by Port Authority and security guards at the entry of the pier after all these years of using the restrooms that we were no longer welcome due to the fact that Port Authority decided that there was an incident with a taxi driver and with a vendor.”
Although vendors and taxi drivers have historically been allowed to use the restrooms on the pier, that changed on J’ouvert day and vendors are speaking out about it.
Sleven-Cooper and other vendors said the pier was closed to them during J’ouvert, so they could not access the restrooms. They said a taxi driver subsequently urinated in public. They also said a vendor disrespected a VIPA employee. As a result, they said VIPA has continued to deny them access to the restrooms on the pier.
“I think we all got punished as little kids,” Sleven-Cooper said.
Samuel “Mighty Pat” Ferdinand, a Calypsonian and taxi driver, said the taxi driver who urinated in public had a heart condition and pacemaker that required him to immediately relieve himself after he was denied access to the pier.
“He offended them, and because of that, they’re saying that nobody can use the restroom now,” Ferdinand said. “They’re also saying that somebody cuss one of the guards there.”
When contacted by WTJX, a Port Authority official said the agency is working on a resolution and expects to meet with the vendors and taxi drivers to discuss it.
VIPA Director Carlton Dowe said there were “some behavioral issues” when asked about the restroom situation on the pier.
“We expect people to follow rules and follow authority,” he said.
Monifa Marrero Brathwaite, VIPA spokesperson, did not have any additional information about the incident during J’ouvert.
“They are conducting an investigation right now and they do plan to meet with the parties and have the issue resolved,” she said about VIPA.
Although VIPA plans on meeting with the vendors and taxi drivers to explain the situation to them and forge a path forward, the vendors have not received any official notice from the government as to why they no longer have access to the restrooms.
“We need documents from someone in authority to tell us we cannot use the restroom,” Judy Charles, who has sold her handmade pottery and souvenirs in the park near the pier for the past four years, said. “We are just hearing from security guards you cannot use the restroom.”
Although public restrooms are located across the street from Buddhoe Park in the Midre Almeric Cummings Recreational & Youth Facility as well as on the north side of Fort Frederik at Frederiksted Beach, multiple vendors said the distance is too far for them to walk because they cannot leave their booths unattended for so long or else thieves would take advantage.
Considering the vendors pay a $600 annual fee to the Virgin Islands Department of Sports, Parks and Recreation to be able to set up their booths and the Port Authority manages the pier, Charles suggested both agencies should jointly issue a document to inform the vendors about the restroom situation.
“If a restroom is not provided, where are we permitted to go without being told you cannot use the restroom?” Charles asked, noting many of the vendors are over 60 years old. “Where can we go that is close to the port that we do not have to leave our booth unattended because there are people that steal your product?”
Darci McHenry, who has been selling her handmade beaded jewelry and other items as a vendor since last November, said it is “unacceptable” to require vendors to leave their booths for an extended period to walk to the public restrooms.
“That means that we’re abandoning our businesses,” she said. “We already have theft down here at the port.”
McHenry spoke of the negative effect that revoking restroom privileges without any explanation has had on the vendors.
“That being the case has caused a trickle-down effect where we have an elderly vendor who was forced to lose some human dignity and close up her booth and use a makeshift facility inside her own booth,” McHenry said. “That’s not acceptable. We pay a lot of money for our spots. We expect some human decency to go with it.”
Tina Hilty, a vendor of about 18 years who sells kites and garden spinners, said vendors have resorted to visiting nearby businesses across the street.
“But they’re so tired of us coming in there,” she said, noting there are too many vendors to accommodate.
Hilty said the vendors do not know where to go to relieve themselves.
“We’re here for 12, 13 hours, and where are we supposed to go?” she asked. “They treat us really, really badly here and I’m tired of it.”
Sleven-Cooper and McHenry both said they have a medical condition that requires them to have immediate access to a restroom when they need to use one. Sleven-Cooper pointed out vendors arrive at 4 a.m. to set up their tents but they no longer have access to the restrooms on the pier.
“I think we need to stand up as vendors and demand that we have access to bathrooms,” she said. “And that is a very normal demand.”
