L.A.’s Street Vendors Say “Legalize It”
Photo by Janette Villafana for L.A. TACO.
Part of the fabric of Los Angeles, equal in some regards but in others even more essential than the mighty taco truck, are our street food vendors. With products ranging from bacon-wrapped hot dogs to grilled chicken to fresh-cut fruit and juices, these hard working entrepreneurs serve a huge number of people every day in the city of Los Angeles. By and large, they do so on the fringes of legality. In fact, it’s illegal even if the vendor has paid the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for official street vending permits and the vendor's cart is able to pass a sanitation inspection. Subsequently, street vendors are vulnerable to police and inspector harassment, intimidation, and loss of property.
KCRW, which also has a number of good photographs of vendors in the city, reports that the
That situation has gotten so intolerable for street food vendors that many are organizing themselves with the help of the East Los Angeles Community Corporation, a non-profit community development organization. In a series of evening town halls held across the city, vendors are coming together to voice their complaint and develop a strategy to get City Hall to overturn the city’s street vending ban.
The ELCC has launched a petition which you can sign here. It reads, in part:
Street vending in Los Angeles is part of the history, culture, and economy of our city. Estimates show that there are over 10,000 street vendors in our communities. Food vending offers employment and opportunities for business ownership for thousands of entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs have been struggling for decades as they experience discrimination, attacks on their livelihood, excessive fines, and even arrests. Our city currently criminalizes sidewalk vendors. We believe that these laws are negatively impacting vendors, community members, and the overall L.A. economy.
Photo by the great Waltarrrr.
Read More:
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from L.A. TACO
‘We Will Win:’ USC Students Won’t Back Down, Committing To Their Fight For Palestine Despite Arrests
One of their main demands is for the school to not only commit to a complete academic boycott of Israel and their killing of Palestinians, but also to be transparent about how much the school is investing.
What To Eat This Weekend: A Booze-Filled Piñata, Ethiopian Lamb Tibs, Mole Poblano in East L.A., and Tito’s Tacos’ Rare New Menu Item
Plus, one classic Mexican restaurant that promises its "last cinco de mayo on Skid Row."
Swarm of Police in Riot Gear Destroy Peaceful Pro-Palestine Encampment At UCLA During Early Morning Raid, Over 200 Arrested
At 4 AM, CHP broke through the fencing on the other side of the encampment and set up a police line, consistently firing flash-bang grenades into the air. They also fired on protestors with “less-lethal” munitions and rubber bullets, causing an injury to one protester’s face that required stitches.
Ten Palestinian-Owned Restaurants to Support in L.A. and O.C.
Supporting our local Palestinian restaurants not only allows you to experience excellent cooking and recipes from a culture and people who have been making these dishes for generations, but it also helps to broaden our worldviews on a culture some forces seek to bury and erase.
Where To Find Don Perico, The Mexican-Owned Brand Bringing Tropical Flavors To Dispensaries
The products, with their festive packaging, tropical flavors, and colorful parrot mascot, are relatable and better yet, they taste great, are fast-acting, and strong.
