\o7 Javier Rodriguez helped organize street vendors in East Los Angeles prior to the passage of the Street Vending Ordinance in January, 1994. He then served briefly as the coordinator for the Street Vendors' Organization (Asociacion de Vendedores Ambulantes). Rodriguez, who lives in El Sereno, continues to coordinate protests and lobbying activities for vendors in the East Los Angeles, Pico-Union and West 6th Street areas.\f7

The first anniversary of the Sidewalk Vending Ordinance, approved on January 4, 1994, by the Los Angeles City Council, arrived and left unnoticed and uncelebrated. Of course, there wasn't much to commemorate anyway. To date, not one of the estimated 7,000 street vendors hawking the streets of L.A. has a vending license.

The vendors have fallen victim to an unprecedented police crackdown, unscrupulous organizations and to internal strife that has almost blown away the dream that began with the spiritual guidance of the late Catholic priest, Father Luis Olivarez. City Ordinance 169319 culminated a five-year venture by Los Angeles street vendors and supporters. Unfortunately, the new city law was born into a pernicious immigrant-bashing environment, forcing organized vendors to dedicate most of '94 to fighting for dignity and survival.

The ordinance, a two-year pilot program, regulates street vending in Los Angeles, mandates the creation of eight special vending districts and, to protect vendors in the interim, the ordinance guarantees that ". . . the council shall adopt a humane and comprehensive endorsement on sidewalk vending. . . ." The enforcement practiced on vendors in '94 hardly qualified as a model of humanitarian police conduct.

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In retrospect, the lack of districts and permits impede any objective assessment of the ordinance, but most quarters agree that the inherently bureaucratic piece of legislation has, up to now, not met the expectations.

The City Council did not foresee the formidable obstacles vendors would eventually face in their drive to make the law a reality in the streets, and when reminded throughout '94, with few exceptions, it looked the other way.

The ordinance also closed the door on hot food vendors, including \o7 taqueros\f7 (taco vendors), who are the largest and fastest-growing sector of L.A.'s street entrepreneurs. The reason: The ordinance faithfully complies with county health laws that require that all hot food sold on the streets be precooked and pre-packed--except hot dogs, of course.