Every summer, for more than half a century, food vendors have been dishing out Latin street food at the Red Hook Ball Fields, first as a mainstay for Latino families who gathered for soccer and baseball games, then as a destination for foodies from around the city who lined up for award-winning pupusas and huaraches.
But the Red Hook Food Vendors have been struggling for the past decade amid an endless series of construction projects and park closures prompted by the discovery of dangerous levels of lead at the ballfields. One by one, trucks and carts abandoned the once-buzzing location at the corner of Bay and Clinton Streets. This year, the last remaining vendor will close up shop.
El Olomega, a Salvadoran pupusa truck run by Marcos Lainez and his family, made the decision to shut down for the 2026 season because they could not on their own afford nearly $14,000 in Parks Department concession permit fees that were once split among all the vendors.
"It's not profitable anymore. It's really hard to do business," Lainez told Hell Gate. "They make it so difficult on us."