Activists gathered at a Los Angeles park on Wednesday in protest ahead of a reported plan by the city to close down the park to remove several homeless encampments.
Demonstrators marched in support of the more than 100 homeless people who reside in Echo Park Lake, walking from the park to a local representative’s office who indicated that the park would soon shut down.
“They want these people out of here, out of the park, yeah, they’re going to get involved just to go to a hotel,” community activist Carlos Marroquin told a local CBS outlet Wednesday. “But what happens after that? Those vouchers are not permanent. They’re temporary.”
The city has reportedly not made an announcement for cleanup plans, though a spokesperson for Rep. Mitch O’Farrell told City News Service that the park would be shutting down for repair.
LA HOUSING OFFICIALS PAID MORE THAN CABINET SECRETARIES AS CITY SEES SPIKE IN HOMELESS POPULATION
A source told the Los Angeles Times that the encampment would be cleared on Thursday and the park would be fenced off and closed for renovation after the people were removed.
The community is showing up this morning in Echo Park Lake!
We aren’t messing around @MitchOFarrell. #EchoParkRiseUp pic.twitter.com/9bhm005BwI
— People’s City Council – Los Angeles (@PplsCityCouncil) March 24, 2021
The outlet also reported there are more than 170 tents and makeshift structures clustered at the north side of the lake and more along the western shore.
A crowd of protesters on Wednesday apparently shut down Sunset Boulevard just before 8 a.m. local time before returning to Echo Lake Park later in the day. Some activists have vowed to remain at the site if the city attempts to remove the encampment.
Echo Park Neighborhood Council President Zarinah Williams called into the Los Angeles City Council meeting Tuesday, telling O’Farrell, “I believe that people who don’t own homes or who aren’t wealthy or don’t have a special interest are residents and are equally valued members of this community.”
Some residents of the neighborhood have said Echo Lake Park has always had a few people sleeping in the park perpetually, though the encampment population has reportedly increased since 2019 and more so since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year.
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The Washington Examiner reached out to a spokesperson for O’Farrell, Mayor Eric Garcetti, and the city’s Recreation and Parks Department but did not immediately receive a response.
