[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]t’s been three weeks since the abrupt closure of Lincoln Heights famous Avenue 26 night market, and vendors are still waiting for answers from the city. Despite having meetings with councilmember Gil Cedillo and his team, vendors have not received a word regarding a possible relocation.
Cedillo’s team shut down the street vendors’ own attempts to relocate near Avenue 26 and has not responded to a PowerPoint with five different locations as possibilities presented to them by Joseph Calderon, CEO of ATM Dependable. To make matters worse, two weeks after the closure where fences were seen going up on Artesian Street, Cudahy’s popular Patata Street market, another beloved market in southeast Los Angeles was also shut down. Now the street vendors from both markets are teaming up in their search to find a new permanent location. Combined, the total number of vendors displaced from these closures is somewhere around 130 according to each market’s vendor count.
The early beginnings of both markets began almost at the same time, out of necessity during a continued pandemic that left many in the city of Los Angeles out of a job. Most who were laid off from their jobs turned to what they knew best: food. Thanks to street vending, many were able to stay on top of bills and family expenses. Both markets also became overly popular thanks to videos circulating on TikTok showing the variety of cuisines these markets had to offer.