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3h ago

Bass Orders LAPD to Stop Criminal Citations for Street Vendors

The mayor’s directive shifts enforcement toward dismissing erroneous charges and expanding vendor support, a move that reshapes a key issue in the mayoral race.

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An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Discarded coconut shells and packaging littering the Salvador Corridor in Los Angeles, Image 2 shows A food vendor on Hollywood Blvd sells hot dogs, chips, and drinks from a cart, Image 3 shows A yellow liquid flowing from a broken pavement area on the Salvador Corridor in Los Angeles
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An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows A woman preparing food at a street vendor stall with fruits and vegetables, Image 2 shows A food vendor sorting pink-red beans from a red basket onto a large pile on the ground

Overview

  • The mayor directed the Los Angeles Police Department to stop issuing criminal citations to street vendors and to seek dismissal of citations found to be issued in error, a step first reported late in the week by multiple outlets.
  • Councilwoman Nithya Raman has pushed a competing approach that would lower permitting barriers and create an Immigrant Economic Opportunity Hub with microloans, legal aid and shared vending corridors to help vendors formalize.
  • City records and reporting show a large gap between an estimated 50,000 street vendors and just 687 active city permits, including only 53 permits for food vendors as of September 2024, which supporters say drives calls for easier paths to compliance.
  • Restaurant owners and some licensed vendors say unpermitted operators undercut businesses and pose food-safety risks such as lack of refrigeration and handwashing, while the mayor’s office points to investments in a Sidewalk Vending Cart program totaling nearly $500,000 this fiscal year.
  • Conservative outlets framed Bass’s move as leniency toward illegal activity while left-leaning outlets emphasized worker protection and regularization, and the debate has become a live campaign issue with unresolved questions about county public-health enforcement and the district attorney’s role.