Diego Tunaya quickly moved his work van and found somewhere else to park, as police began towing other street vendors’ vehicles last week at a popular street vendor corridor during the evening in Westlake.
“To be honest, they came in a bit too aggressively and started hooking up cars to the tow trucks immediately,”said Tunaya, a street vendor who has sold Guatemalan specialties for over five years.
On Thursday evening, the Los Angeles Police Department led an operation to address traffic issues on Bonnie Brae near 6th Street.
The LAPD towed more than 15 vehicles, according to street vendors.
The inability of Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) engines to drive through the area was the primary issue and they conducted the operation after several days of warnings in English and Spanish and citations, according to LAPD Capt. Ben Fernandes.
Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez’s office said officers with the LAPD spent two weeks warning individuals with illegally parked vehicles in the area, including speaking directly with vendors and community vendor organizers.
“The vehicles in question were parked in red zones and double-parked to the point that fire trucks could not safely pass through,” said CD1 spokesperson Naomi Roochnik. “Our office remains committed to supporting street vendors through access to resources, education, and assistance navigating the City’s vending regulations.”
CD1 will continue advocating for policies that protect the livelihoods of street vendors while ensuring our streets remain safe and accessible for everyone, including emergency responders, Roochnik said.
Two street vendors who work in the area noted that this was the first time police officers blocked off the street in order to target vehicles parked on the street though parking enforcement regularly makes the rounds to make citations.
On most evenings, Bonnie Brae street between 5th and 6th streets becomes the Guatemalan Night Market with vendors selling a variety of traditional soups, tamales and other foods and drinks.
For Tunaya, having cars parked along Bonnie Brae while he sells makes it easier for him to load and unload work equipment and makes him feel safer.
“Sometimes it’s good to have the cars here because there’s people that drive crazy and jump onto the sidewalk,” Tunaya said.
One vendor mentioned that his family member, who also works as a vendor, paid more than $500 to get his vehicle out of the tow yard and pay a citation fee.
The same week as the towing operation, the Los Angeles City Planning’s Office of Historic Resources posted a purple sign commemorating the vendor corridor that says “Guatemalan Night Market” as part of their HistoricPlacesLA Revealed: Latino Los Angeles initiative.
The Los Angeles City Planning Office describes it as a grant-funded initiative that launched in September 2025 aimed at celebrating places and stories associated with Los Angeles’ Latino communities through the installation of physical markers.
Between October and November 2026, physical markers were installed on City light posts adjacent to 140 sites across Los Angeles that reflect the heritage of the city’s Latino communities. The markers include QR codes linked to newly introduced multimedia content associated with each of the featured sites in the City’s online historic resources database, HistoricPlacesLA.
The Guatemalan Night Market started in 2015 with 4 vendors serving Guatemalan food, this market has grown to over 40 vendors and is now one of the largest street food gatherings in the city, according to an information sheet shared by LA City Planning.
Additionally the sheet stated that for many vendors, the market is how they make their living and connect with their cultural identity.
LAFD did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication
