Thread by @JewhadiTM

UPDATE: ⁦@nithyavraman⁩’s Bleeding Heart Endangers Constituents

A homeless encampment on North Berendo Street—at Hollywood Boulevard—in Los Feliz has been taken over by a street gang that is listed among the top 10 in Los Angeles as most dangerous. losfelizledger.com/editorial-rama…

Narcotics, including meth, are routinely sold at the site—like an open-air drug market—to passersby and drivers of cars that appear at all hours of the day and night, prostitution has occurred, weapons have been brandished & shot, fires are frequent and propane tanks are numerous

Tagging is a regular occurrence, creating a turf war with another gang.  

The initial homeless people—some of whom may have been “taxed” by the gang—have left the encampment and moved around the corner to safer spots on Hollywood Boulevard.

One homeless man has fully furnished for himself a portion of a nearby underground tunnel that once was used for school children to trespass safely underneath busy Hollywood Boulevard to nearby Los Feliz Elementary School.

Renters and homeowners alike on North Berendo have begged, respectfully, for help since December for the situation, which deteriorates by the day.

Their homes have been tagged with gang graffiti, their tires slashed and one gang member has mimicked slashing their throats or shooting them in video caught on their Ring camera. They have been chased and threatened with large shards of glass.

But no one can seem to do anything. The LAPD has made a few arrests of the gang leader and his girlfriend at the site for car theft and illegal possession of a gun, but because of California’s lax crime laws, both were released within hours and returned to the encampment.

Because of rules the Los Angeles City Council enacted at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the encampment cannot be cleared or cleaned. This ruling still stands even though COVID-19 cases are so low that all of Los Angeles County is reopening.

Further, the pandemic showed, homeless people did not contract COVID-19 in the numbers officials once feared, primarily because they live outside.

And because of homelessness protections, due to “12 different agreements based on lawsuits,” as one LAPD officer recently said, its hands are tied. For instance, the LAPD cannot enter the encampment without a warrant.

These days, a tent for a homeless person or a wood-framed dwelling on the sidewalk—as is the case at Berendo—must be treated as if it is a house. According to the LAPD, the encampment is a gang enterprise, so it is unclear why they don’t indeed request a warrant to enter.