Letter to the Editor: Street vendors don't belong near schools

Dear Editor:

If you observed a lone adult male loitering around your child’s grammar school, would you be okay with it? No? What about middle school? No? High school? No? Would you find this behavior suspect? Would you be inclined to notify the school officials or even go so far as to call DPD?

Then why is the City of Downey allowing this to happen at virtually all of our schools?

Does the fact that a lone adult male loitering around our schools behind some sort of food cart make it okay? I no longer have school-aged children and I find this trend troubling.

Weren’t you taught not to talk to “strangers” and/or not to take candy/food items from them?

Who knows what your child is actually getting from these vendors? Do you trust the hygiene practices? Do you trust the food handling skills? If those “skills” were in the school cafeteria or at a local restaurant, would you be outraged? What sort of grade would they receive? Lack of hot running water is an automatic fail. Does the fact that your child may have to walk out into the street to get around these vendors distressing? I see them regularly blocking sidewalks/encroaching on the public domain.

These vendors do not pay City of Downey taxes or registration fees; they generate no revenue for the city. They do not generally have a City of Downey or Health Department permit. They pay no rent/mortgage or utility bills. They pay no insurance. They are unfair competition for legitimate brick and mortar businesses within our city.

Mostly, they’re interacting with your children and you have no idea who they are or what may be in their background that may make them predatory.

Are you really okay with having these vendors outside our schools and elsewhere in our city?

Patricia Morris
Downey