LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Residents in a northeast Las Vegas neighborhood say an illegal swap meet has taken over their block. Vendors started selling items near the intersection of Carey Avenue and Betty Lane approximately eight months ago.
“It’s every single weekend. They can make a buck in the front of their front yard like everybody else with yard sales. They don’t need to come to my neighborhood,” said a woman who lives nearby and did not want to be identified.
The woman said the weekly events go on from dawn till dusk and expressed concerns about the noise, littering, and the influx of strangers in what she considered a once calm community.
"We get up and we can hear at 4 o'clock in the morning people yelling and screaming, fighting over spots and loud music. It’s just a lot of fighting and a bunch of congestion,” the woman said.
According to Clark County officials, the swap meet has been operating for several months without a permit and is causing significant traffic in the area.
A spokesperson for Clark County sent over this statement:
“Clark County is very concerned with this illegal swap meet and the effect it is having on neighborhood quality of life. We are looking for an alternative location where properly licensed businesses can operate in a safe environment. We have placed the cement jersey barriers at the site to further restrict access to the site. If the vendors are still there by this fall, construction on the Carey Road alignment will force the participants to move to another site.”
