North Hollywood Swap Meet Vendors Protest Pending Eviction

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA — Vendors from the North Hollywood Swap Meet and their families staged a protest Tuesday outside the Hancock Park home of owner Moshe Hager, demanding the marketplace stay open.

The Swap Meet is expected to close March 31. 100 vendors were given a month’s notice to vacate, and are being asked to pay back rent. Vendor Roberto Lopez told ABC7 News that the owner is asking for three times the amount of rent that used to be charged.

“We just want to keep our swap meet open because it’s part of our community and it’s part of our family,” vendor Yaneli Leon told KTLA.
“Many small business owners and workers are immigrants and provide for their family and community members,” reads a change.org petition signed by 2,687 people. “With a little over a month’s notice, they were told to pack up their whole livelihoods and clear out of the building. Many of the small business owners have been doing business at the swapmeet for years- some for over 30 years - and have build a community.”

The petition says that vendors received a letter on Feb. 18 telling them that management could not renew a lease agreement with the landlord, and would need to vacate the premises by March 31.

Owner Moshe Hager told Eyewitness News that the operator of the Swap Meet owes a significant amount of back rent.

"Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to resolve the ongoing issues and therefore decided to end the tenancy," Hager Pacific said in a statement. "We have forgiven several million dollars in back rent owed by the operator."