Ocean Front Walk Transient Situation Becoming Critical For Residents - Described As ” A Nightmare “

For the past several months, the amount of transients taking up residence on Ocean Front Walk has grown rapidly. Despite pleas from residents and business owners, a recent ruling in the LA Courts have tied LAPD’s hands in dealing with the problem. While several businesses and building owners have posted “No Trespassing” signs and filled out the appropriate No Trespass Authorization Form and filed it with the local police department, the reality is that as of right now there is nothing that can be done. A recent court ruling allows the homeless to sleep on any sidewalk from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The ruling was intended for the Skid Row area of downtown, but the City, fearing additional litigation, is allowing the practice all over the city. The ruling also stated that people will not be able to bed down within 10 feet of the entrance of a building, parking lot or loading dock - but clearly that is being violated constantly along Ocean Front Walk. One of the largest encampments is right in front of the large parking lot at Sunset - but moving ten ft would put them right in the middle of Ocean Front Walk which at the moment seems to be considered a sidewalk. They can’t sleep in the Park or grassy area… so they all pile up - and the results have residents and business owners beside themselves.

Venice 311 receives almost 3-4 reports per evening regarding the noise, public urination, defecation, trash and hoarding along Ocean Front Walk. Tonight there have been three LAPD calls for fights, one reportedly with more than 20 people - and there was just an ambulance called for a battery where a transient had to be transported to the hospital after getting into a fight. Just after the ambulance call we received this report through our website:

Between 715 and 723 there are a huge Amount of homeless people sleeping on the sidewalk in front of all the homes and in the alley by the lawyers office. They piss and do there business in the car ports and sidewalks every night and the police do nothing to stop the influx of crusties every night, are they ever going to do anything to stop them or are we just stuck with the problem.. Is there anything we can do? I’m just afraid the problem is going to get a lot worse than it already is. I thought it was illegal to sleep on the beach ? But every time I see a cop they do nothing. Who should I call to try and put a end to all this? Thanks so much…

In addition to transients being allowed to sleep on the sidewalk, LAPD and Sanitation can no longer discard the trash that the homeless hoard and leave on the sidewalks where they sleep. Estela Lopez just published an article about the situation downtown, which mirrors what we residents are experiencing in Venice, published below.

A Legal Ruling’s Unfortunate Impact

June Decision Turns Skid Row Sidewalks Into a Health Hazard

by Estela Lopez | Posted: Friday, August 26, 2011 4:36 pm
On June 23, U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez issued a ruling in a case involving a lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of homeless individuals. Two months later, the impact of his decision is clear: Skid Row sidewalks have been legally converted into scenes we’d imagine in some third world country, not blocks from our own City Hall.

LAPD and Department of Public Works crews are now prohibited from removing abandoned items from Skid Row sidewalks. Attorneys for eight plaintiffs successfully argued that items such as medicines, clothing and personal papers were confiscated and destroyed after the individuals left them unattended for mere minutes while showering at a mission or using a public bathroom. It’s difficult to imagine police actually having so little to do as to lie in wait to take items left for a few moments on a sidewalk, but the ruling has been made.

It’s the consequence of that ruling that neither the attorneys nor Gutierrez have to live with. We do. Right now, portions of sidewalks along Sixth Street, San Julian Street and elsewhere in Skid Row are impassable due to filthy mattresses, moldy food and items covered in urine, feces, flies and even maggots. The vulnerable physically and mentally ill, many of whom are unable to care for themselves, much less the possessions they hoard as means of protection or trade, have interpreted the ruling to mean the use of the public sidewalks for the personal storage of these items is now lawful.

I work in Skid Row and live Downtown. I see the impact of this ruling and it sickens me, especially when there is another solution, one that isn’t as costly as housing or as difficult to site.

Since 2002, hundreds of Skid Row homeless individuals have been storing important personal possessions at the Central City East Association’s (CCEA, where I serve as executive director) Check-in Center/Personal Property Warehouse on East Seventh Street. The facility currently stores the possessions of more than 600 homeless families and individuals - free of charge, seven days a week. Through private donations, the number of storage bins has been increased twice in recent years to meet growing demand. The reality is that a private sector-driven solution is working: Not only has the Check-In Center won numerous awards, but also, far more importantly, it has been heavily utilized by the community - precisely because it is a secure and orderly environment.

The annual operating expenses of the center are nearly $120,000. A local property owner donates the warehouse space and, since 2006, CCEA’s cost to expand the center has been balanced with financial assistance from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

The human tragedy in Skid Row is immeasurable. The narcotics brought in by people from outside the area are a profitable business. With a target-rich population lying on or wandering aimlessly through the streets, often self-medicating themselves into oblivion, the drug pushers significantly outnumber police and social service outreach workers. And now these streets are covered with refuse and debris that often hide weapons or drugs, but mostly pose a public health hazard, all in the name of compassion.

What few talk about are the thousands of working poor and disabled people living in Skid Row, who struggle but succeed in paying the area’s modest rents. These individuals and families with children are prisoners in their own homes because of unsafe conditions in the public right-of-way.

CCEA respectfully questions the fairness of Gutierrez’s ruling. Has he considered the rights of the neighborhood’s businesses and poor-yet-housed residents? His ruling does not apply to the City of Los Angeles as a whole. Rather, it singles out one community that now must allow conditions that would never be tolerated in other areas of the city.

CCEA knows well that this is a complex issue. On the subject of unattended personal property - as with many other issues - we call for equity and balance. Let us not forget, however, that the sidewalk is the public’s right of way and that it should not be traded in exchange for a conscience. We must help the thousands of homeless people throughout Los Angeles who need a home, not merely give them a few inches of pavement and call it a day.

Estela Lopez is the executive director of the Central City East Association.

©Los Angeles Downtown News.

Normally we would post a list of email addresses… but as a few have recently, how about just hitting up the Councilman’s Facebook page and letting him know how you feel there as a start. This issue is clearly not going away, and as of right now there is nothing any City department or local law enforcement can do about any of it.

http://www.facebook.com/bill.rosendahl?sk=wall