MacArthur Park has changed, says the mayor of the Karen Bass.
The problematic public square in Westlake has seen shootings in gangs, use of unbridled drugs, discarded syringes, homeless people, people who experience mental health crisis and a “outdoor market” of stolen products.
But after a repression of the city, Bass said Monday: “I don't know if someone can drive there and not see a significant difference.”
In recent months, the city has increased police feet patrols in the neighborhood and has deployed workers and mental health dissemination equipment to help those drug overdose. The fencing was installed along Alvarado Street, the authorities said, in an effort to prevent the sale of stolen products by some street vendors.
Suppliers are a basic element among immigrant communities, selling products in and around the park. But the authorities say that some of them sold stolen property, drugs and even weapons.
“Many of those stalls provided an outdoor market for illegal activities,” Bass said during a press conference that describes the city's efforts to address the problems around the park. “Now, after collaborative and integral efforts, including the actions of the Council Office and community groups, the results begin to show.”
These police efforts have extended beyond the sellers of the sidewalk to adjacent companies and what the city states is an organized retail theft.
Police complied with a search warrant in a store in West 6th Street, right in front of MacArthur Park, and arrested a woman on suspicion of receiving stolen property. The officers found cases of pharmaceutical products, makeup and other items that are believed to be taken from CVS, Walgreens, Ross, TJ Maxx and Target.
(Los Angeles Police Department)
Police say they recovered more than $ 350,000 in stolen merchandise from a store in West 6th Street, right in front of the park. The goods were linked to the organized retail theft, said Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
The officers fulfilled a search warrant in the business and arrested Blanca Escobar on suspicion of receiving stolen property there. They found cases of pharmaceutical products, makeup and other items that are believed to be taken from stores, including CVS, Walgreens, TJ Maxx and Target, according to LAPD.
There was no immediate information about whether charges had been submitted against Escobar.
“The LAPD undertakes to maintain and expand these crime reduction efforts and will continue to increase our community scope, the directed application and investigation efforts to ensure that MacArthur Park remains a safer place for everyone,” said McDonnell.
Amid the repression, allowed street vendors said the police stop them.
Captain Manny Chávez, with the Patrol of Rammart of the LAPD, said that the city had adopted a measured approach to address the illegal expendations of the street and made by the sellers. The officers notified sellers about what they could sell with their permits and warned the vendors if they sold illegal goods.
“We take a very, very high level of tolerance,” Chávez said during the news session.
John Alle, who manages a series of properties in Westlake's neighborhood and interrupted the press conference, was not satisfied with Bass's comments on Monday, calling the event a “public relations trick.”
The park is still insecure, and gang members continue to represent a threat to neighborhood businesses, he said.
“We see no progress,” Alle added.
The bass compared the situation with a “WHOK-A-Mole” game as the city chases illegal street vendors and tries to ensure that the area is safe for residents and companies.
However, he said there had been progress, and McDonnell said the crime statistics backed him. In all categories of crimes, including property crimes, the police chief said there had been a general reduction of 42% since December.
“It does not mean that the work is done,” said the mayor. “We have a long way to go, and we have to deal with people who suffer from addiction.”
Together with the increase in police presence, the city has mobilized the dissemination equipment armed with naloxone, the drug that can reverse opioid overdose. The city is also using a cleaning program to eliminate garbage and hazardous materials from the park, such as syringes.
“It's about saving lives so that people can access treatment and resources, get out of the streets and enter housing,” said Eunisses Hernández during the news conference.
Hernández, who represents the district, said that the ambassadors of La Paz went out to the neighborhood after a shooting in a gang in January in an effort to discourage gang tensions, as well as get in touch with people living in the street, street vendors and business owners.
“We also know that there is more work to do, and that is why my office is working to open a delivery center near the park that will provide bathrooms, showers, access to food,” said Hernández.
“There are multiple fires in MacArthur Park,” he said, “but we can all work together to find a strategy that publishes all those fires at the same time.”
Times staff writers, David Zahniser and Richard Winton, contributed to this report.
