Community

South L.A. encampment cleared, but neighbors cite unresolved problems

Los Angeles installed fencing near 60th Street and Vermont Avenue after removing tents and debris; nearby residents say rats and displacement remain concerns.

Image credit: Ken Lund / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0; archival June 2014 photograph of Vermont Avenue in South Los Angeles, not the encampment, cleanup or fencing

A large encampment near 60th Street and Vermont Avenue in South Los Angeles has been cleared, and the city installed a green fence to prevent tents and belongings from returning to the alley, NBC Los Angeles reported September 28. Neighbors told the station they felt safer using the area after dark but said sanitation and housing concerns remained unresolved.

What it means locally

Residents said rats associated with the former trash buildup were entering nearby homes and that they had begun setting traps themselves. A worker at a neighboring strip mall said at least one person who had lived in the alley appeared to have moved elsewhere in the neighborhood, raising concern that the cleanup shifted rather than solved the underlying homelessness. NBC4 said it sought comment from Councilmember Curren Price’s office but had not received a response as of Monday evening. The accompanying photograph shows a separate section of Vermont Avenue in South Los Angeles in June 2014; it is not an image of the encampment, cleanup or fencing.

Full report and further details: Read original report →