Jocelyn Dominguez, Mayor Karen Bass’ representative for the Watts and Harbor areas, and Joe Luckey III, Associate Director of Planning and Development for the City of Los Angeles assured Fiesta Mini Mall vendors that the city would relocate them.
On August 22, Dominguez and Luckey III pledged their word, on behalf of the city, during a meeting with vendors, after they learned that the building where they still operate their businesses would be closed and demolished for the construction of 221 affordable homes.
The verbal commitment was recorded in a video shared with La Opinión.
However, employees of the mayor’s office notified that they have until October 31 to leave the flea market located between Main and 48th streets, in south central Los Angeles. The owners of the land did not want to give them more time to stay.
The threat of eviction occurs, after three extensions of time they received, from the new owners of the place where they have their businesses: the company Eleos, owned by David Aghaei, who is also the developer of a project of 38 new apartments on the corner of 57th and Broadway streets.
Early Tuesday morning, the contingent, known as Vendedores Unidos de Fiesta Mini Mall (United Vendors of Fiesta Mini Mall), backed by community organizations Unión del Barrio and the Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU), protested in front of the house. where the mayor lives, in the Windsor Square area.
“On the side of the developers”
“Karen Bass you can’t hide. “We can see your greedy side!” (“Karen Bass, you can’t hide. We can see your greedy side!” and “Justice, yes! Evictions, no!” and other chants by the Protestants caused a stir in the neighborhood.
According to “Dee,” a member of the Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU), “she [la alcaldesa] He is directly on the side of the developers of Los Angeles, not the working class since he took over as mayor.”
He said Bass would like to privilege developers to gentrify the area.
“Right now I’m saying she’s a traitor. She accepted a job that required her to take sides. I think anyone who accepts the position of mayor is pretty much obligated if he wants to be re-elected,” she added.
The vendors should have moved since May, when they went on “strike” over the payment of rent for their premises.
Thanks to the intervention of Councilman Curren Price Jr. (District 9), they obtained several extensions, until the owner of the land did not want to give up any more time.
“We need more time to relocate,” said René Ramírez, 44, who sells a variety of merchandise at the Fiesta Mini Mall, from clothing to appliances.
“Now, the owners who bought the property just want to evict us all,” he added. “Many of the sellers are over 50 years old, and if they get kicked out, they will end up living on the street.”
One of them, Fernando Espinoza, 53 years old, who is a seller of electronic products, speakers, covers and phone chargers, said that, with the parking lot that they are building in the establishment where he has his premises, “business began to fall. , up to 60%.”
“I already have my clients; I work from Wednesday to Sunday; Sometimes I earn a little more or a little less, and in a good week I earn $1,000, but I have to pay $1,300 in rent where I live, in addition to the rent for the premises ($300).”
The man, originally from Pachuca, Hidalgo, told La Opinión that, if a place to relocate was found, he would have to pay at least approximately $900 per month for a location, which would be almost impossible for him to meet.
A state law protects the owners
Mike Castillo, executive director of the Business Resource Center in the office of Councilman Curren Price Jr. (District 9) said that, although the case of the Fiesta Mini Mall vendors is complex, SB 35 protects the new owners of the property at 48th and Main Street.
Indeed, Senator Scott Wiener’s affordable housing planning and zoning project emerged to boost the production of affordable housing across the state.
The law, signed by former Governor Jerry Brown in September 2017 and took effect on January 1, 2018, is designed to address some of the obstacles to municipal approval of new housing developments, such as lengthy approval processes and sometimes not very clear or the opposition of local governments and residents.
In the case of the street market vendors, the previous owners of the place where their businesses are located never informed them that they would sell the place, even though they made investments from their own pockets to build their premises.
Thus, the new owner can evict whoever he wants, whenever he wants.
“In the spring, we offered and continue to offer help and technical assistance for the transition to those who request it,” said Mike Castillo. Those interested can contact (323) (323) 846-2651
In a statement, Karen Bass’s response to the small business owners of the Fiesta Mini Mall was:
“Mayor Bass’s senior staff has met with the owners of these small businesses, and the mayor’s chief of staff has offered to meet with them again this week to continue discussing solutions to help them stay in business, as that the Fiesta Mini Mall has been sold to allow 221 units of 100% affordable housing to be built for the community surrounding this site.
City officials, including the local Council Office, have been in communication with the vendors for months and previously negotiated a three-month extension to the leases of these small business owners.
Mayor Bass is committed to doing everything she can to help support the transition of Fiesta Mini Mall small business owners and will continue to advocate so that businesses of all sizes have the support and resources necessary to thrive in Los Angels.”