Photo: AGUSTIN PAULLIER / AFP / Getty Images
After being evicted by the city’s maintenance order, street vendors from the Salvadoran corridor in Pico-Union seek to reach an agreement with Los Angeles officials.
The vendors, along with various organizations, were in talks with city representatives on Tuesday to try to reach a motion that would facilitate street vending .
“It is the place where we went to buy medicine and food from different Latin American countries”, said the executive director of the Salvadoran American Leadership and Education Fund (SALEF), Jocelyn Duarte, in an interview with the Telemundo network.
“They clean when they leave, but during the day, while they are there, they are not cleaning, and all the people are throwing the garbage,” said a parking guard.
But not everyone thinks the same, Suleima Isamar, a worker at the shopping center next to the corridor, assured that there are many benefits that sellers bring with them.
“That is what calls people to come here, not only what we sell ourselves, because people come to buy their pupusas, the green mangoes”, said Isamar.
The Department of Health, together with Councilman Gil Cedillo, promoted the cleanup of Vermont Avenue, stipulating that during the process, organizations such as SALEF will be advising in the search for alternative locations for vendors who are willing to receive assistance.
“SALEF is aware of the support of the councilor in assist in the search for alternative locations, no matter how long the process takes , for any vendor who is available set to receive your assistance,” Councilman Gil Cedillo’s office reported in a statement.
“We, as an organization, are ensuring that people who are sellers have access to all the resources that already exist ”, said the executive director of SALEF .
Dozens of vendors are experiencing their first week of eviction, and waiting for a prompt resolution.
“ We (vendors) need a quick solution, because imagine, there are many people who have 3 to 4 children , and we need the mayor’s support,” said street vendor Vilma Varela.
You may be interested:
· Street vendors of the Salvadoran Corridor in Pico Union ask that they not be left without their livelihood
· Project California law seeks to help mobile food vendors obtain proper health permits
Los Angeles mayoral candidates respond to Latinos