Residents and business owners in a Los Angeles neighborhood known for shopping and high-end restaurants are sounding the alarm over a homeless encampment
"I was about to park in the alleyway, but there were a bunch of homeless people," Navene Shata, a resident of Beverly Grove who was out on Friday night with a friend told KABC-TV about the homeless camp along San Vicente Boulevard just south of the Beverly Center not far from the city of Beverly Hills.
"You know, we're both single girls here in LA. We just don't feel safe."
Business owners say that the tents are deterring customers from shopping in the upscale area where the cost of a one-bedroom apartment runs about $2,200 a month.
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"They attack cars, they tried breaking into my van several times so I can't keep any of my vehicles here," local business owner Michael James told the outlet. "I'm parked here because I'm in my office and my car's exposed in the back, so I don't want to take any chances."
Another business owner told the outlet that a window of her business was recently smashed and said she planned to visit the office of newly elected Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass every day until the issue is resolved.
In mid-April, KABC-TV spotted a naked woman lying on a couch in the middle of the street in the growing encampment.
"I saw the couch one day out there, and I think, 'Oh my God,'" a business owner named Debra told the outlet.
"The next day, I came back and see she's all over the couch and she's just naked. She was crying. I felt bad for her, you know? I wanted to like give her something to cover up but I felt like if I do the little things, then I'll have everyone coming and asking for help."
Fox 11 Los Angeles reported last month that drug sales, fights and fires are common occurrences at the homeless encampment. Residents said that police will sometimes ask the homeless to move, but they return as soon as an hour later.
Homelessness continues to increase in several Los Angeles neighborhoods and a study from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority in 2022 estimated that 69,144 people were living on the streets in LA County, a 4.1% rise from 2020.
