East Oakland homeless encampment on MacArthur Boulevard raises health, safety concerns

CBS News

5 days ago

People in East Oakland say a growing homeless encampment on MacArthur Boulevard near 106th Avenue is becoming more unsanitary and unsafe. And now, it's starting to spill into the street.
"We shouldn't have to live like this," said Staci, a woman who lives in East Oakland and frequents Sports Page, a bar just feet away from the encampment.
She said in the last few years, it's continued to get worse.
"The smell is horrific," said Staci. "It's the smell, then there's rats and rodents and the rats are coming across the street."
She worries about the health and safety hazards. She said you can't use the sidewalk and some cars and buses have to swerve out of the way of the trash.
"It's been close calls," Staci explained. "I've seen it. You can see it. You have to go out into the street, it's encroaching on the incoming traffic."
And those living in the encampment know the residents aren't happy.
"We're all looking for places to go instead of here," said Teela Hardy, a woman who has lived in her RV in this area for a number of years.
Hardy said she's tried to get housing, but they won't let her take her dogs, who have become like family and protect her while she's lived on the street.
She said she tries to be a good neighbor and keeps her space clean, but not everyone does the same.
"It's so hard, it's so hard," said Hardy. "The garbage man always says if you put your trash here, we'll come pick it up every week, but they don't do it. They never do it. So we're left trying to figure out where to put trash. I see some people putting trash on the street. I hate that."
Newly elected city councilmember for District 7, Ken Houston, said he won't stand for the mess anymore.
"What's been happening in our streets, for the last 5-6 years, is ridiculous," Houston stated. "Our kids, our seniors, have to walk in the streets, cars have to go around trash and around these encampments. They're blocking the sidewalks. I'm changing all that. Enough is enough."
Houston plans to introduce an Encampment Abatement Plan at a council committee meeting on Sept. 10, but before that, he's taking action on MacArthur Blvd.
"I'm going to start cleaning up certain areas with public works next week and then I'm going to start having those RVs tagged," said Houston. "Next six to seven weeks, watch how it looks. Watch how it looks."
He said Measure W, which was passed by voters in Alameda County to address homelessness, will help fund some of the changes.
But for Staci and others in the area, it can't come fast enough.
"Us taxpayers, we shouldn't have to see this," said Staci. "Something needs to be done."