NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Bayou Blue’s Gift Shop owner Batool Ali has grown frustrated over the years as more illegal street vendors make their way to the French Quarter, selling items similar to hers and resulting in a loss of business revenue.

“They took all of the business. People don’t want to walk up to our store if they are getting all of those things within a few feet,” Ali said.

Large snake confiscated from French Quarter

Along with downtown business owners, French Quarter residents are also concerned with these vendors as well.

“Illegal vending pops up right in front of your house, on the neutral ground in front of your house, on the corners a lot of times with BBQ pits and grills and gas and it’s already problematic in the French Quarter with access to first responders getting around corners, so parking is an issue all the time,” French Quarter Citizens President Glade Bilby said.

Councilman Freddie King has been an active opponent against illegal vendors saying safety is also a serious concern.

“You got people cooking food unpermitted. You don’t know where that food has been stored, how that food is being cleaned, how that food is being prepared; so you just want to make sure everyone is being safe, and like I said in the beginning, this is more of a public safety issue than anything,” King said.

Ali says some of these vendors come from out of state… Harming the local economy even further.

“They definitely pay taxes in their states; not in Louisiana, and if they are not from New Orleans they’re not paying taxes in the New Orleans also. It’s like bad for the New Orleans economy also and for us also,” Ali said.

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