A federal judge says there's an "apparent abdication of responsibility" on the homelessness crisis among LA City officials and it's putting lives at risk.
It's a scathing order from Judge David Carter, who's overseeing a lawsuit filed by a coalition of small business owners, residents and others over the city and county's response to the crisis.
"While it is the understanding of the Court that the County has complied with its obligations under the agreement, it does not appear the City has made similar progress," Carter wrote in the order.
Carter says "despite seven months of promises, conferences, plans and meetings, nothing substantial has been done to remediate the appalling and dangerous conditions in...Skid Row." He says the situation has only worsened.
Carter adds while the "court is reluctant to substitute its judgment for that of elected officials...[it] cannot allow the paralysis of the political process to continue to endanger the lives of homeless [people] and the safety of the communities in which they reside."
Read the order here.
Plaintiffs' Attorney Elizabeth Mitchell says she agrees with the judge's assessment and believes "there is a complete lack of leadership and direction" from LA City officials.
"I think they are scared of NIMBYs I think they are scared of activists. I think they don't know which direction to take and because of that, you have people dying on the street," she says. "You have a city government that is paralyzed by fear and it needs to move forward. If the government doesn't move forward and act quickly, the court is going to do it for them."
Judge Carter finds the county is complying with its obligations under an agreement worked out with the city last year to provide 6,700 interim housing beds.
A hearing is set for Thursday on skid row.
A spokesman for Garcetti said in a statement "We are saving lives by bringing more people indoors at a faster pace now than we ever have before. The
City is on schedule to meet the terms of our agreement with the County, which the Court has approved, and we’re continuing to push for more progress with every available resource. The Mayor appreciates Judge Carter’s work to help us house our homeless neighbors as quickly as possible.”
A statement from the City Attorney's Office says Feuer believes as long as there are homeless people living on the streets, "all of use should be impatient about finding additional solutions" and "city leaders should explore every possible path forward."
Judge David Carter's order mentions an incident that happened during last week's storm. Union Rescue Mission CEO Andy Bales says - at Carter's request - the Mission and others, including Councilman Kevin de Leon - came together to quickly get huge tents set up as emergency shelters in skid row, complete with heaters and bathrooms.
Bales says members of Mayor Eric Garcetti's office showed up and a "turf war" ensued.
"The Mayor's people showed up and they were showing disdain. You could see it in the parking lot everybody lined up in one section of the parking lot and looking at the other group. Kevin de Leon tried to bridge the two groups but there was no bridging. It was an example of what happens in LA that people don't work together, there are turf wars, and philosophy wars and meanwhile, people on the street suffer," he says.
Again, the mayor's office has not responded to our requests for comment. Bales says the tents went unused. The judge and De Leon's office were able to get a few homeless women housed at nearby hotels.