Thread: Flea market tangled in red tape

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/n ... arket.html

Flea market tangled in red tape
Permit confusion has shoppers, vendors at Pleasant Valley gathering place worried.
By Jeremy Schwartz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, January 25, 2006

The aroma of barbacoa and carnitas tacos floats through the crisp morning air as the vendors begin displaying their wares: a riot of Mexican soccer shirts, cowboy boots, used electronics and cheap jeans. In a corner, someone squeezes a few notes from a glittering red accordion at a music booth.

"This is a Mexican tradition," said Filiberto Argote, a native of Monterrey, Nuevo León, who runs a stall with his wife selling clothes. The people who shop here "feel like they're at home."

Since opening about five years ago, the flea market on Pleasant Valley Road has become a thriving Austin tradition as well. For the largely immigrant population filling the legion of apartment complexes off Riverside Drive in Southeast Austin, the flea market â€â€

He showed the Austin American-Statesman some of them, though he would not allow copies to be made. They say they are certain the later permits were never issued but can't explain how Wadiwalla has hard copies.

Fraudulent documents?

The money they make selling clothes and sneakers on weekends helps him send $200 every two weeks to his mother in El Salvador.

Mama's living pretty high on the hog.

Martha Moya, manager for the adjoining Garden Oaks apartment complex, said overflow parking from the market sometimes prevents mail deliveries and blocks driveways.

Wadiwalla said he has addressed the trash problem by providing trash pickup for vendors and is working on securing more parking.

The flea market was also the scene of a police raid in November that netted nearly 20,000 illegal music CDs.

This kind of operation should be required near every illegal alien advocacy group. They want it, make them live with it.

Wadiwalla, himself an immigrant from the Pakistani border area with Afghanistan, says the flea market fills a need.

Strange bedfellows.

"This is how we live," said longtime vendor Graciela Mejia.

Unfortunately this is how we will all live if politicians don't get off their arses!