The vendors at the Fiesta Mini Mall in South Los Angeles have been fighting for several months to avoid being evicted.
The workers received the eviction notice in May but they are hoping that the exit order will not come true.
“I've been at the swap meet for 15 years now,” said Elsa Rivera, one of the vendors who gathered in front of Mayor Karen Bass's house to protest. “We have been at the swap meet since it started. “We pay taxes and that helps us with our income.”
Like Rivera, about 50 entrepreneurs have been selling for years on that property, located at the intersection of 43rd and Main streets.
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A low-cost apartment building with 221 affordable units will be built on the site. According to the District 9 office, the project was awarded to the Eleos company and was approved in December 2022.
The grant was made under the California Density Law SB-35, which allows developers to build on a site without holding public hearings. That is why District 9 and the city of Los Angeles cannot do anything about it as they do not have jurisdiction in that regulation.
With the help of District 9 representatives, the sellers have managed to obtain an extension of the eviction until October 31. But they believe that Mayor Karen Bass has ignored their requests.
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“In truth, it seems that she is ignoring us because we have been trying to talk to her for months but nothing has been resolved,” said René Ramírez, another of the vendors who is being affected.
The mayor is in Washington this week to seek federal support to fight the problem of homelessness.
Their protest has taken them to the mayor's official house, where they hopes she will listen to them before the eviction deadline arrives.
“Yes, we know that she is not here, but we are going to continue coming here until she listens to us because, how come she says she wants to help small businesses but at the same time she is taking us out of the swap meet, where we get our income,” Ramirez said.