Mere weeks before their lease is set to expire, a group of vendors from the Little Village Discount Mall and supporters Thursday called on the mall’s owner to not kick them out, and, barring that, for the city to intervene.

“We don’t have the famous brands of Michigan Avenue, but we still draw tourists from all over, from Florida to New York,” said Kocoy Malagón, who runs a dress shop at the mall.

The 100 or so vendors have been pushing for the mall’s owner, John Novak, to disclose his plans for the mall and for him to include them in any changes coming after the lease expires at the end of January.

Novak, who is president of Novak Construction and bought the six-acre property in 2019, has in the past cast doubt on keeping the mall open and said he planned to eventually bring in national retail chains.

Malagón spoke at a news conference outside the mall located at 26th and Albany streets, near the iconic “Bienvenidos a Little Village” arch. On hand were dozens of other vendors, supporters and local Ald. Byron Sigcho-López (25th).

“We’re businesspeople that provide for this community and employ our youth,” Malagón said. The longtime vendor added that taxes from the businesses help keep the community and local schools afloat. 

“These spaces shouldn’t be closing but expanding,”  said Sigcho-López (25th). “They’re not just part of the community but one of the city’s resources.”

Sigcho-López called on Novak to meet with the group to discuss solutions but said “one option that should not be on the table is closing the mall.” 

He said that vendors at the mall pay a rent of $20 per square-foot, and that one had in fact reached out to Novak, proposing to pay $30; but Novak allegedly responded that he would accept nothing less than $45.

Novak could not be immediately reached for comment. 

Barring Novak’s meeting with the group, the alderman whose ward includes much of the Lower West Side neighborhood said he would call on the city’s Department of Planning to intervene.

“Any development of this size needs to be done with the community and local alderman,” said Sigcho-López. “We will exhaust every option, including legal action.”

Iraís Miranda, the owner of a musical instrument shop that has been there since the mall opened in 1991, said the mall offers good stories about entrepreneurs and culture in a community where the news often focuses on violence,

“This is a positive aspect of our community,” he said. “We’re asking Novak to please let us stay.”

Michael Loria is a staff reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper’s coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.