Street Vendors Struggle to get City Legalization

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Street Vendors in the L.A. Fashion District Try to Make Ends Meet While in Fear of Police

Cristina Galvan

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J

ulio Celis stands behind a market cart selling freshly squeezed orange juice as his two young sons play around his cart. He recalls how a few years ago he was behind bars for selling his product thus missing the birth of his son, now four. Celis says in Spanish. “I didn’t see him be born, and that is what hurt me the most.” Like many street vendors, Celis constantly worries about the police since street vending in Los Angeles is prohibited. Despite a push to legalize the practice little has changed.

Celis is one of an estimated 50,000 street vendors that sell food, clothing and other items on the streets of Los Angeles. Street vending is prohibited in Los Angeles.

Janet Favela, an organizer with  the East L.A. Community Corp. who has been at the forefront of the legalization campaign, said that in 2013 Councilmen Jose Huizar and Curren D. Price Jr. were convinced to enter the matter into the legislative process. Favela says “We have yet to move forward. and so this is the same campaign still pushing for the legislation.” Favela is disappointed that there has been no progress since Huizar and Price tried to change the laws.

Currently the matter is in the Public Works and Gang Reduction Committee which is chaired by Councilman Joe Buscaino who has the ability to put the matter on the agenda. The issue is now with the Public Works and Gang Reduction Committee and Favela says there is no indication when it might move forward.

"Right now we would like to see a proposal of what the possibilities for legalization are. We understand that we've submitted many proposals, We've submitted our draft legislation. We've submitted many recommendation documents, to both the Economic Development Committee and the Public Works [and Gang Reduction] Committee, which is where our legislation lies before it can go to full council, and we are yet to receive a report back or recommendations or proposal for legalization,” says Favela.

Making Ends Meet

In their report “Sidewalk Stimulus” for the Economic Roundtable, Yvonne Yen Liu, Patrick Burns and Daniel Flaming say that street vending is a $504 million industry in Los Angeles.

For street vendors like Celis and Amelia Villafane, street vending allows them to make ends meet.

Villafane works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the clothing industry. During the weekend she sells quesadillas for $4. Once she gets out of work she has to buy her ingredients and cook the meat which she uses in her quesadillas.

During the week Celis works in a warehouse loading and unloading trucks. He says in Spanish why he sells orange juice during the weekend: “The first reason to come and sell fruit juice is because of L.A.’s economy. What I make in my normal job well in reality it’s not enough. I only have enough to pay rent, bills and well for the family there is nothing left.”

Since street vending is prohibited, encounters with the police are feared. Street vendors can be cited, fined or even taken to jail. Once the police arrive, many decide to run and leave behind their belongings, which are then confiscated or thrown away.

Celis once had all of his belongings thrown away, resulting in a loss of more than $200. In Spanish he says, “the first time that it happened to me it felt ugly, my wife cried. They had never done that to us, she felt bad when she saw that they threw everything away, and well it’s something ugly but it’s something we have to get used to in this business.”

Villafane once left all her belongings behind, which cost her more than $500.

Says Favela: “They are criminalized, their stuff is taken away, their opportunities for survival are taken away and they're not allowed a legal opportunity to conduct their business.”

Criminalization can have economic and health effects on street vendors, says Favela. “Beyond the economic component where people are not able to sustain their families, then there’s also the health and the mental wellness component where folks are affected, you know there’s higher levels of stress for some of our street vendors,” says Favela.

Business Owners Fear Competition

The Los Angeles Fashion District is comprised of shops selling everything from shoes, toys, quinceañera dresses and some restaurants. For street vendors, selling their product brings in income, but for business owners such as Olga Lopez-Soliman, street vendors can be seen as a form of competition.

Lopez-Soliman who came to America from El Salvador has a small Mexican restaurant that she has owned since 2001. As crowds go in and out of her restaurant to buy breakfast, Lopez-Soliman stands behind the register charging people who appear to be regulars. During the week she works at her job and on Sundays she spends time in her restaurant. She believes that every year it gets harder and harder to maintain her business because of street vendors.

“They don’t pay rent, they don’t pay taxes they don’t pay [the] Health Department. They don’t have too many expenses. You know maybe they hire someone to help them through the day, but it’s not like here. Here I have four employees and I have to pay them,” says Lopez-Soliman.

Olga’s monthly rent is $6,000. Aside from that that she also has to pay a fee to the Health Department and pay taxes. She finds that she has to compete with vendors for prices which slows down her business. The business owner says that even though a lot of the vendors open their cars and take the food out in boxes customers still buy from them.

She says “People choose to buy from them because it’s cheaper. Every plate I sell costs $9, $8…they can sell the same plate for $5.”

Ariana Gomez is the marketing and Public Relations manager for the L.A. Fashion District Business Improvement District and says street vendors have an impact on businesses. "The most obvious problem of all is competition, if you have a street vendor selling shoes who sets up infront of a shoe store and they're both selling the same thing and one is paying rent and paying taxes and the other one is not, it’s an unfair…advantage.”

For some street vending helps provide income to pay rent and support their families. To businesses street vendors are a form of competition. The city is yet to find a resolution that benefits both.