OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS RADIO) – A federal judge has given Oakland the go-ahead to begin clearing the last holdouts of a massive homeless encampment.
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The courtroom battle over the Wood Street camp under Interstate 880 is finally over.
In 2022, Caltrans began removing hundreds of the houseless from under I-880, but several dozen people remained, making up what is called the "Wood Street Commons."
On Monday, Federal Judge William Orrick ruled that the city can finally begin clearing the commons.
"It terrifies me to see what's being done to these people and it angers me," said homeless advocate Danny K. "It's just plain wrong."
Oakland told Judge Orrick that it now has enough shelter beds for all of the displaced residents, but Talya Husbands-Hankin — a lead organizer of East Bay organization Love and Justice in the Streets — told KCBS Radio she finds that hard to believe.
"There are many people here who are vehicle dwellers and the city of Oakland's RV sites are completely full, so people have literally nowhere to go," she explained.
Wood Street residents will be given at least seven days notice of the closure. Oakland said it needs to move the camp to make room for an affordable housing project.
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