L.A. officials manipulating the public on homelessness
The cat is out of the bag on the San Vicente homeless encampment.
Recent news reports on the rapid growth of a homeless tent encampment on medians and sidewalks along San Vicente Boulevard in Los Angeles's Beverly Grove neighborhood, across the street from Beverly Hills, have featured startling images of the “naked encampment,” including one naked resident asleep on a couch on the street.
KTLA 5 News interviewed encampment resident James Boss, identified as someone who has lived on the streets off and on for more than 13 years. He said on camera, “They told us to come over here. I mean, the sheriffs and the police department told us to come over this way because they were going to offer us housing.”
KTLA's John Fenoglio reported, “The LAPD tells KTLA it cannot confirm if there has been a directive for officers to tell unhoused people to move to the area. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department says no such directive is in place.”
No need to quibble over the meaning of “directive,” since the LAPD didn't even deny it.
The next question, obviously, is why?
Part of the answer was uncovered by KNX News' Craig Fiegener in an interview with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Fiegener asked the mayor about a statement from City Council member Katy Yaroslavsky, who represents Council District 5, in which the San Vicente encampment is located.
“Katy Yaroslavsky said they're running out of interim housing in her district; is that something they can work on?” Fiegener asked the mayor. “Yes, yes,” Bass answered. “I'm working on that with her, because I'm very concerned about San Vicente, and San Vicente is a high priority to me, but the problem that we're having is finding the interim housing that's affordable in her district. So Katy and I are working on it and we believe we'll get it solved within hopefully a week or two.”
San Vicente Boulevard in Brentwood, now site of a giant homeless encampment, during the L.A. Marathon in 2021.
For the record, real estate in this area is among the priciest on the planet. Four million people live in the city of Los Angeles, and the Beverly Grove neighborhood is unaffordable to probably 3.5 million of them.
Is it the policy of the city of Los Angeles that people who work for a living have to live where they can afford housing, but people who set up a tent on a median strip in the middle of San Vicente can live in the conveniently located and highly desirable neighborhood near the Beverly Center? At taxpayer expense?
Yes, it is. That's the policy. That's why Mayor Bass says “the problem” is a lack of affordable interim housing in Council Member Yaroslavsky's district, instead of using the citywide state of emergency she declared to find shelter or housing in another district where available property would be more affordable.
Still, that doesn't quite explain why city authorities would encourage the growth of a homeless encampment on the border of Beverly Hills. For the next piece of the puzzle we turn to City Hall, where a legislative housing package unveiled by Yaroslavsky on Feb. 15 included a resolution of support for Senate Bill 4, which would legalize and expedite the construction of affordable housing on land
owned by religious institutions and nonprofit educational institutions. The package included a report on how affordable housing developers can collaborate with houses of worship.
The final piece of the puzzle may be this: IKAR, a religious institution with properties located within two miles of the San Vicente encampment, is currently partnering with Community Corporation of Santa Monica to build 55 units of permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals on IKAR property, if SB 4 becomes law. “We are deeply grateful to Councilwoman Yaroslavsky and her office for their enthusiastic support of this project,” said IKAR's executive director and CEO, Melissa Balaban, according to a Feb. 23 report published in the Beverly Press & Park Labrea News.
Have city officials allowed, even encouraged, a massive homeless encampment on San Vicente in order to suppress public opposition to SB 4 and the homeless housing projects it would legalize and expedite in the Beverly Grove neighborhood?
Judge for yourself. SB 4 is set for its next committee hearing on April 26.
Write Susan@SusanShelley. com and follow her on Twitter @Susan_Shelley