Latino residents of an East Los Angeles neighborhood protested a popular flea market event over too many “entitled” tourists invading their community.
The Elysian Valley Riverside Neighborhood, a working-class community with a large Latino population, criticized the Frogtown Flea Crawl event for bringing in hundreds of “trust fund hipsters” who have “created traffic jams, blocked driveways, left behind trash and even urinated in public,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Neighborhood Council President Arturo Gomez told the LA Times that people who attend the event “exhibit an attitude of entitlement that this neighborhood is for people who want to treat it like a playground, as opposed to the people living here just trying to live their lives.”
As an individual, however, Gomez further suggested some people behind these events seemed unaware of ongoing issues involving gentrification.
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Elysian Valley residents criticized the behavior of people who attend the Frogtown Flea Crawl event. (Photo by Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“In Elysian Valley, our concerns regarding gentrification, lack of public transit options, and environmental pollution have gone unheard and ignored for too long. Events such as the flea crawl have further raised frustrations among my neighbors, as it was organized by outsiders like [event founder Analise] Anderson who only saw our community as an opportunity to profit and play at the expense of our neighbors’ quality of life. I hope that this conflict teaches an important lesson to people seeking to do business in our community: work with residents and you won’t be immediately driven out,” Gomez told Fox News Digital.
The Frogtown Flea Crawl was launched in spring 2023 and has since become a popular attraction due to social media influencers. While some local vendors appreciated the business opportunities, local residents have attacked the event at neighborhood council meetings, the LA Times reported.
“There are people in this neighborhood that have to wake up at like 3:45 a.m. to go to work, and then they come home at 6, 7 [p.m.], tired as hell, just hoping to get some time with their family, but there is a car blocking their driveway because there’s an event happening,” lifelong resident Emilia Sanchez said at one meeting. “That’s not cool.”
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The Frogtown Flea Crawl was canceled in the neighborhood after backlash. (iStock)
Another resident, Lili Sanchez, added that most of the community members cannot even take part in the event.
“I think something that people don’t consider is that as a working-class community, we cannot afford a lot of what gets sold at the flea crawl,” Sanchez said at a council meeting. “Even the prices at the local businesses, we can’t afford them.”
After ongoing controversy, event founder Analise Anderson announced earlier this month that the event would be put on hold, only to pull the event altogether on Thursday.
“I want to express my deep respect and gratitude for the local Elysian Valley community. I’ve heard their feedback about parking, congestion, and the overall impact of our market, and after careful consideration, I’ve decided to conclude The Frogtown Flea Crawl out of respect for residents and their concerns. It’s important for me to step back and let the Elysian Valley residents lead conversations about what’s best for their changing neighborhood, as they’re the ones most directly affected,” Anderson wrote in a statement on Instagram.
As a council member, Gomez celebrated this move as “a prime example of success where the people and their representatives align to defend their communities”, according to the LA Times.
Neighborhood Council President Arturo Gomez advised businesses to recognize the impact on the community before moving. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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In his personal opinion as a resident, though, Gomez acknowledged other businesses will likely attempt to try similar events in the future.
“I personally think that businesses looking to set up shop in any community, especially in communities where residents have lived for generations and are tightly-knit, should cooperate with the community and their representatives so that fights like this can be avoided,” Gomez told Fox News Digital.
