Berryessa Flea Market vendors began a hunger strike today demanding city leaders and developers protect vendors from being displaced by a big housing and commercial development.
The strike comes one day before the San Jose City Council votes on rezoning plans that would force the closure of two-thirds of the Berryessa Flea Market, to allow for the development of tech offices, apartments and retail near transit, known as the Berryessa BART Urban Village.
The 430 vendors, who are largely immigrant and family-operated vendors, have relied on the operations of the market since it opened more than 60 years ago. They worry the development will permanently close all the vendors.
The 3.4 million square foot urban development project would shrink the flea market's land from 15 to 5 acres.
The Bumb family, which owns the land, has promised to not evict any vendors before the current flea market closes and to give families a one-year notice before they are expected to leave. This means warnings could be issued no earlier than July 1, 2023.
The Bumb family said it also would contribute $2.5 million to support vendors with relocation costs. About $500,000 would be paid in October and the additional $2 million dispersed at the one-year closing mark.
But vendors want a plan from the city to preserve their livelihood and the future of the flea market, known as La Pulga.
During a Friday protest at San Jose City Hall Plaza, vendors called on the city to defer the Tuesday vote for 90 days, allowing the city to mediate negotiations between the Bumb family and vendors.
“So far from what we have heard of the city, they are throwing their hands in the air and saying we have done all we can do and this is the best you are going to get so shut up and take it,” a vendor said in a video posted on the Berryessa Flea Market Vendors Association'Twitter page. “We are not going to take it,” they said.
Through those negotiations, the Berryessa Flea Market Vendors Association said it hopes to create a community benefits plan with the Bumbs, more land and financial assistance to recreate the Flea Market, assistance for impacted vendors and a process that centers vendors in planning for the future of the community-owned Flea Market.
The Berryessa project under consideration Tuesday would rezone the flea market site to allow roughly 365,000 square feet of commercial space and 2,800 residential units—rezoning a 61.5-acre portion of the site for up to 3.4 million square feet of commercial space and up to 3,450 apartments.
On Tuesday, the council is to consider creating a Flea Market Advisory Group, which will have vendor representation, to plan how money will be allocated to vendors and how vendors will be offered a new spot.
The Tuesday meeting will begin at 11 a.m. and can be accessed via zoom at https://sanjoseca.zoom.us/j/91325378626.
The flea market has been a stable platform for people and families to go look what happened to the capital expressway flea market gone with the wind the flea market should be a land mark for the struggles and hard working people of san jose
Why the flea market there are other area in san jose for development.
Having been to this flea market, I’m not so sure this hunger strike will last very long. Is it over now?
Per Chuck Reid, rezoning is inevitable? A lie. The Bums will do nothing with this land unless rezoned, which contrary to popular belief, is not a mandatory council action. The City continues it’s rampage to provide not for our legacy demographic, generations whose ancestors struggled to establish a comfortable living standard, but instead land use dedicated to the extremely financially privilege class of their respective billion plus country, across the Pacific. Who make up 2/3 of the Valley tech workforce as the Leadership Group globalists demand. Confirmation? Just check Sprouts at Brokaw, the Great Mall, Lowe’s at Cottle for the new fake diversity.
A form of ethnic cleansing. $4,000 per vendor? 5 acres? Makes one laugh and cry simultaneously. The City and developers owe as proportional compensation, these vendors and music/cultural performers, a new location far greater than 5 acres with its own parking and other amenities. Multi-trillion-dollar Silicon Valley commerce partnered with the City can afford it.
The Flea Market is already about past generations of constituents. The new development is nearly exclusively for professional immigrants (think H1b) and large corporations and developers. Constituent betrayal a Council lifestyle. One can only blame the electorate if there are good alternate candidate choices.