One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
Olvera Street’s legacy donkey stand, La Carreta, to be evicted
La Carreta at Olvera Street.
(
Caitlin Hernández
/
LAist
)
Topline:
The future of Olvera Stree’s donkey attraction, known as La Caretta, has been decided. The El Pueblo board of commissioners voted Thursday to move forward with evicting the family-run stand that’s been there for 57 years.
What was the issue? After the primary owner of the stand died in April, the family was left with a legal problem. Richard Hernandez has run the stand for years, but it was his mother’s name on the contract — not his. Her death prompted Olvera Street management to start an eviction process. The family has drummed up public support for months in a fight to save their spot.
Why this decision? According to general manager Arturo Chavez at the meeting, the family didn’t follow up on the mother’s notarized paperwork that she submitted in 2019 to add her son, after the pandemic when Olvera Street reopened. As such, Chavez and the city attorney determined that the city had no legal obligation to amend the lease. Now that the lease has expired, the commission concluded they had no legal alternative to eviction under the city charter.
What’s next? The vote kickstarts a 30-day notice to quit process. The family’s attorney, Daniel Bramzón, said the commission was misinformed about their options. They plan to fight the eviction in court.
Go deeper… to learn more about why La Carreta was so loved.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
