Vendors Scrambling For A New Location After Charlotte Shuts Down A Popular Open-Air Flea Market

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On the weekends, you can find the Eastland open-air market lively and bustling. Until Friday, when CMPD and the city shut it down.

“There were police officers walking in the area over there where we all set up, and they told us we couldn’t go in there anymore. It was off-limits; we weren’t allowed to be here and that nobody could be on the property at this point,” says Ingrid Martinez.

Martinez has been selling napkins and other goods made of yarn at the market since 2015. Her parents also sell tools there. She says most of the vendors had no idea they would have to move for good, and now they have nowhere to go.

“It’s shocking. It’s kind of worrying that we’re going to lose some of the extra money that helps us.”

A spokesperson with the city tells WCCB the city informed the market operator last year that it was ending its lease agreement in the fall to prepare for redevelopment of the mixed-use site and that vendors would have to find a new location. When the lease expired in September, the market continued to operate without permission. The city also says there have been some public safety concerns associated with the market, including someone illegally selling guns and food trucks operating without proper licenses.

“A lot of the vendors, I’m pretty sure, knew about the construction, but we didn’t know when that was taking place. There was no communication with us, you know.”

Ismaail Qaiyim is an attorney representing the vendors. He says he emailed the city on January 25th to talk about relocation, and the city didn’t respond until Friday morning. The same day vendors had to vacate.

“The whole point is we would like the city to work with the vendors. But we’re going to kind of do what we need to do to find a new place,” Qaiyim says.