Latest news with #DrTahaniSoliman
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Doctor in Dem-led city forced out of office by homeless encampment on the roof of her building
A well-respected doctor in Democrat-led California has been forced to abandon her practice after years of a persistent homeless encampment overtaking the building's roof. Dr. Tahani Soliman, owner of a Los Angeles County medical practice, has spent years battling a group of unhoused individuals who have turned her rooftop into their own personal space - terrorizing her staff, setting fires, and creating an unsafe work environment, KTLA News reported. Now, the West Coast physician is officially walking away from her practice, overwhelmed by frustration and a glaring lack of urgency from city officials. 'We are living in hell,' Soliman told the outlet. Located in a Huntington Park neighborhood, Soliman's family medicine practice sits next to a multi-level parking garage. However, the parking garage in question is notoriously a hotspot for the local homeless population - and alarmingly, it provides easy access to the rooftop of the doctor's office. For years, the self-employed doctor has endured the homeless encampment consistently taking over her building's roof - stealing electricity, stripping scrap metal from air conditioning units and even starting trash fires. Dr. Tahani Soliman (pictured), owner of a family medicine practice in Huntington Park, has spent years battling a group of unhoused individuals who have turned her rooftop into their own personal space - resulting in the loss of her sense of safety As recently as Tuesday, a fire broke out atop the parking structure, forcing crews from the Los Angeles Fire Department to rush in and extinguish the blaze. But this incident is far from isolated. It appears to simply be the breaking point in Soliman's long-running struggle. In 2023, a fire erupted in the same exact spot, during which firefighters informed the doctor and her staff for the first time that homeless people were living atop the parking garage. 'We ended up putting a fence with barbed wire,' employee Gaby Rodriguez told KTLA. 'They took that down.' 'We put cages around our AC units, and they took those down.' From that point on, clothes strewn across the roof, damaged equipment, discarded cans, vape devices and other debris have become a constant and struggling sight. Soliman shared that she estimates having spent more than $100,000 in repairs and deterrents like barbed wire and fencing - only to watch the homeless tear it down time and time again. The parking garage (pictured) next to Soliman's practice is notoriously a hotspot for the local homeless population - and alarmingly, it provides easy access to the rooftop of the doctor's office For years, clothes strewn across the roof, damaged equipment, discarded cans, vape devices (pictured) and other debris have become a constant and struggling sight 'They ruined my roof,' the doctor told KTLA. 'I have to put in a new roof and electricity from the air conditioning,' she added. 'I have to replace all of them.' Whenever Huntington Park police are alerted to the recurring incidents, they reportedly tell Soliman there's little they can do to resolve the problem. Adding to her frustration, every call Soliman has made to city officials has gone unanswered, leaving her feeling abandoned as her business continues to be overrun. 'No protection for my employees, for my patients or my tenants,' Soliman told KTLA. 'That's why I'm going to retire, because of this, I lost everything.' The encampment, which has been a source of escalating tension and safety concerns, has raised serious questions about the city's handling of homelessness. Critics of California's shelter system have dubbed it the 'homeless industrial complex', but Sergio Perez, who was until recently a Los Angeles city accountability chief, gave it another name in March. In Perez's words, it's a 'very expensive merry-go-round'. Soliman (pictured) shared that she estimates having spent more than $100,000 in repairs and deterrents like barbed wire and fencing - only to watch the homeless tear it down time and time again A recent study by CalMatters revealed the true scale of California's shelter system, which is bigger than was widely understood. Since 2018, the news site found, at least $1 billion of tax dollars has flowed to projects for the homeless. But these epic handouts solve nothing. Although the number of emergency beds has more than doubled from 27,000 to 61,000 in that time, there are still three times as many homeless people as there are shelter beds across the Golden State. Researchers lifted the lid on a mismanaged, graft-ridden enterprise - a gravy train of funders, officials, shelter owners and charities that perpetuates the homelessness crisis as it gobbles up more public money. However, the homeless themselves are the real victims, as they languish in moldy shelters where stabbings, sex crimes, harassment, and child abuse too often hurt their already-struggling occupants. The Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count registered as many as 6,672 people experiencing homelessness in Lancaster and its surrounding areas in 2024 alone. Earlier this year, Southern California mayor R. Rex Parris of Lancaster (pictured) sparked mass condemnation after revealing he'd give homeless residents 'all the fentanyl they want' in an effort to wipe them out Earlier this year, a Southern California mayor sparked mass condemnation after revealing he'd give homeless residents 'all the fentanyl they want' in an effort to wipe them out. Just a tiny, two milligrams dose of the drug is enough to kill a human. R. Rex Parris, the mayor of Lancaster, made the remarks in front of stunned residents and councilmembers at a city council meeting. When asked about his vision to tackle the crisis, the 73-year-old Republican mayor did not mince his words. 'What I want to do is give them free fentanyl,' Parris said. 'I mean, that's what I want to do. I want to give them all the fentanyl they want.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Rooftop homeless encampment in L.A. terrorizing doctor's office
A doctor in the south-central region of Los Angeles County is calling it quits after years of battling denizens of a rooftop homeless encampment that have continuously terrorized her and her employees, costing the general practitioner tens of thousands of dollars in the process. Dr. Tahani Soliman owns the building she runs her practice out of on the corner of Rugby and Zoe avenues in Huntington Park. A multi-level parking garage next door to her practice has reportedly been a hub for unhoused people, who are easily able to access her roof, camp out, steal electricity and scrap metal from her air-conditioning units and start fires. The doctor told KTLA that she estimates she's spent more than $100,000 on repairs and deterrents such as barbed wire and a fence that the homeless simply tear down. 'We are living in hell,' Soliman said. 'They ruined my roof. I have to put in a new roof and electricity from the air conditioning. I have to replace all of them.' On Tuesday, crews with the Los Angeles Fire Department extinguished a blaze on the rooftop of the parking structure and it's not the first time. Gaby Rodriguez, who works for Dr. Soliman, said there was another fire in the same spot in 2023. It was firefighters who told the doctor and her staff that homeless people were living on top of the parking garage. 'Violent unscripted, unscheduled' rape scene at core of lawsuit against Kevin Costner 'We ended up putting up a fence with barbed wire. They took that down,' Rodriguez said. 'We put cages around our AC units, and they took those down.' According to Rodriguez, Huntington Park police have told the doctor and her staff that there is not much they can do about the problem and that the office's calls to the city for help have gone unreturned. Dr. Soliman, frustrated and angry about the lack of support for her business, staff and patients, said she has had enough. 'No protection for my employees, for my patients or my tenants,' she told KTLA. 'That's why I'm going to retire, because of this I lost everything.' KTLA reached out to Huntington Park city officials who said they would investigate the situation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
