By Sarai Henriquez, Editorial Intern
COVID-19 has affected most everyone this year, but it hasn’t stopped Vicenta Dinicio from working.
Every day she wakes up, goes to work and sets up her stand of masks to sell. She offers a wide variety of designs and sizes for children and adults. Dinicio is a street vendor in Long Beach trying to make a living to provide for her family during the pandemic.
She has been living in the United States for 16 years, but started selling masks only three months ago.
“I was laid off from my previous job as a housekeeper and I found a way to make money still,” Dinicio said in Spanish.
According to the Employment Development Department, 957,300 people are unemployed in Los Angeles County. California’s employment rate increased to 14.9% in June because state employers added 558,200 jobs. EDD conducted two surveys after a previous record gain of 134,200 jobs in May. California has now regained more than a quarter of the 2,625,500 non-farm jobs lost during March and April as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I do not rely on help from the government,” Dinicio said. “ I am not here to live off welfare or food stamps because I alone can work and I know how to work.”
She spends about $600 on masks she thinks are worthy of selling. Some days she makes money; other days she doesn’t.
“It’s not a promised salary,” Dinicio said. “When you lose your regular job, what else can you do? I have to least try and help my husband provide for our family.”
Dinicio said that the most challenging obstacle she has faced selling during this pandemic is dealing with racist people. She was verbally attacked by a white man one-day when she was trying to sell.
“I have seen in the news how people get attacked,” Dinicio said. “It does not compare when you live through that and it’s scary. You ask yourself, ‘What do I do? How do I defend myself?’”
She retold how on one occasion a white man started yelling at her and telling her and her son to go back to Mexico. He said that her kind was not welcome here.
A local bystander stopped and told the man to leave Dinicio and her son alone and that she is trying to provide for her family.
“We are not causing harm to anyone,” Dinicio said. “But there will always be bad people. Before, I was not scared of having my mask stand, but with the experience I faced, I have been more cautious about my safety.”
Now, she sells her masks with her husband, when he is off from work, and with her son. She is never alone.
“The pandemic has really made it hard to sell,” Alfonso said in Spanish. “Thankfully, we never had to close our stand, but we did see a decrease in sales, which is something we expected. People are more cautious.”
Alfonso left his home in Puebla, Mexico, for a better life and job opportunity here in the United States six years ago.
Not only does Alfonso have to worry about COVID-19 affecting his business, but he also has to make sure that he is not breaking any laws when it comes to selling food on the streets.
Ernesto Alfonso has a similar story to Dinicio. He has been selling fruit since he arrived to this country and has been working every day to provide for his family.
“We have permits to sell food,” Alfonso said. “We are not allowed to chop the fruit out in the open. We are supposed to have them in containers ready to sell. Another rule is that you can’t have knives and peelers with you.”
In Long Beach, if a street vendor is selling food on the public sidewalk from a stationary cart, is compliant with all California Health and Safety codes, is not violating any Americans with Disabilities Act laws or blocking the sidewalk and is not causing a public nuisance, then the vendor is not violating any ordinance.
Selling in the City of Long Beach
To sell in Long Beach, a person has to apply for a selling permit and all temporary food facilities and temporary events with food must follow with all applicable requirements of the California Health and Safety Code and City of Long Beach ordinances.
“There are currently no regulations in place that specifically regulate stationary carts that would like to vend merchandise,” said Chelsey Finegan, a media relations representative for the City of Long Beach. “In response to the changes in state law related to sidewalk vending, a local ordinance to establish regulations for these business activities is being developed. However, finalizing the ordinance has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Under state law, sidewalk vending does not require a permit unless specified by local regulations. Local regulations for the City of Long Beach are still being finalized. For those vendors who meet the definition of a peddler, a permit is currently required and can be obtained by applying for a business license to conduct that type of business.
According to the City of Long Beach, peddlers are people who go from place to place, house to house or business to business, displaying or selling any goods or food items.
The Voice for the Voiceless
Some street vendors have been experiencing more than verbal abuse. Some have been physically assaulted and others have even had their property stolen. That was the case of 65-year-old Bernardo Nuñez.
Back in July, Nuñez took a break from his regular routine and went inside a store leaving his cart outside. When he returned his cart was gone.
Fortunately for him, Local Hearts Foundation came to the rescue. The organization helped raise money to help replace the ice cream cart. It also has donated protection gear for street vendors.
“We just started to help people,” said HJ Chong, founder of Local Hearts Foundation. “We have the ambition and the motive to do good and serve our community.”
Chong said street vendors have been dealing with these kinds of problems for quite some time.
“This isn’t a new emerging problem that our street vendors are being attacked out of nowhere,” Chong said. “No, this is a dilemma that has been going on for years. And, this is one of the things that have become normal for our street vendors.”
The organization found out about Bernardo Nuñez’s cart being stolen by coincidence. Chong’s partner, Tito Rodriguez, was handing out personal protective equipment and mace to street vendors for their safety. Someone got a hold of Rodriguez and explained how Nuñez got his cart stolen.
Rodrigez got a hold of Nuñez and was determined to find a way to help him.
“This guy lost his livelihood; he lost everything,” Chong said. “He makes about $50 to $80 a day, working eight [to] nine [hours] walking around; he doesn’t make much. Quickly, Tito contacted me and we started planning away to get him a cart so he can be back on his feet.”
They managed to get Nuñez a cart and a bicycle and it took Rodriguez about a week to assemble it. And, in the midst of putting the cart together, they decided to make a GoFundMe page, which raised more than $10,000.
“Initially, the GoFundMe was to raise money for a cart and it turned into something bigger,” Chong said. “We shared it on social media and it went viral. George Lopez put it on his Instagram and a lot of … Latino Instagramers were posting it. Next thing you know, it was flooded. We raised $10,000 in just two days.”