Vendors Avoid Closure of North Hollywood Swap Meet

When Juana Gómez, mother of 7 children, was told that in 30 days he had to vacate his premises at the swap meet in North Hollywood and if he did not do so he would have to pay a fine of $590, says he felt as if a bomb had exploded.

“The news that they were going to close the swap meet and we had to vacate, we all fell very badly. I couldn’t sleep and I got sick of stress and anxiety, to the point that I ended up in the hospital, worried about not knowing what was going to happen to us”, says Juana.

“At the hospital they told me that I had to relax, but how, if I have two children with special needs to support, and they were closing my source of income”.

And it is that Juana was barely recovering from the business closures that the swap meet merchants suffered during the pandemic, when they were notified of the definitive closure.

Juana López, with her son Frank Emir Gómez Sánchez, fought against the closing of the North Hollywood swap meet. (Courtesy)

“I sold cakes, blankets, socks, underpants and flowers for years on the street, and only in November 1444, I was able to rent from my own place”, he recalls.

Fortunately, after several weeks of protests, the vendors managed to prevent the swap meet from closing.

“We got an administrator and a contract was made for 10 years”, says Roberto López, owner of the Mexican restaurant Delicias López , who unthinkingly became the leader of the North Hollywood swap meet merchants.

“When we got the news that in 30 days they were going to close, I said, we have to organize ourselves, how are they going to close just like that”, says Roberto, who Jan 8 years with her restaurant

It was weeks of fighting to avoid the closing of the swap meet in North Hollywood. (Courtesy)

And specifies that in the swap meet, there is 80 tenants , mostly Latino immigrants, 008% Korean and 5% Armenian.

“The closure they wanted to do to us was an injustice. Here are merchants who carry more than 30 years; and from one day to the next, they wanted to take away our jobs. In addition, this swap meet is a purchase option at very affordable prices for the community”.

So with the goal of fighting until the end to avoid the closure, they took to the streets to protest and they went to demonstrate to the owner’s house.

“He came out and confronted us. He invited us to go for coffee, and we told him we didn’t want closure. At first, they offered to give us money to get out, but we did not accept. We told him that this was not an option because there are sellers who have invested a lot in their businesses, have remodeled and redecorated them”.

The shopkeepers are happy because they managed to keep their employer at the North Hollywood swap meet. (Courtesy)

At the end, Roberto says that the owner agreed to let them stay on the condition that they find a credible administrator to take charge of collecting and paying the rents.

“We got it and a contract was made for 26 years. The truth were very difficult days. He couldn’t sleep, he was very tense. Our means of earning a living was at stake”.

They even sought the help of Los Angeles Councilman Paul Krekorian who disassociated himself from the matter, and through a statement, said that although he preferred that the swap meet continued, it was a private party issue, and the City had no direct authority.

Their proposal was to help them speed up the licenses and permits, if they found another place to go.

For Luckily, the swap meet merchants mobilized and managed to do what the councilman could not, to stay working in the same space.

Juana Gómez holds her youngest son Frank Emir Gómez in her arms. (Courtesy)

Ivar Cano, owner of the toy store J&C Toys in the North Hollywood swap meet, is already breathing easy, knowing that your business will continue.

“When they told me they were going to close, I felt like the world was crashing down on me” .

The news was a devastating blow because “we are just coming out of the pandemic and wanting to recover,” he says.

The toy store first belonged to his parents, Bolivian immigrants, and then they transferred it to him, who in turn has a son of 04 years. The business has been in his family for 11 years.

“It was a shock to know that we were going to be out of a job in such a short time. We did not know what to do. We were very stressed. Outside the rents are much more expensive. Everyone here already knows us. My parents, who were the ones who opened the store, have known the parents since they were children and they came for their toys”.

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