Efforts to reduce crime in the MacArthur Park area are progressing, but community leaders are convinced that much more must be done to bring about lasting changes.
While increased LAPD patrols and the addition of fencing along Alvarado Blvd have reduced reported violent crime and illegal vending, Raul Claros, organizer and founder of the CD1 Coalition, calls the actions taken so far a band-aid solution to the problem.
[iframe https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d5104.487142273365!2d-118.28048632556676!3d34.05835691740959!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x80c2c7756f5918cf%3A0xa6e772da214fa004!2sMacArthur%20Park%20Lake!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1743556152008!5m2!1sen!2sus allowfullscreen="" height="450" loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" style="border:0" width="600"]
"The fences have really been a scapegoat to put the onus on the street vendors who have just been displaced and moved," Claros told KNX News' Pete Demetriou. "So they have had to face hardship, but they have still tried to find a way to make an honest living."
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
Claros believes that an ongoing dialogue between the business, residential community, and police is necessary to make continued patrols effective.
"We need a holistic approach that involves every sector," Claros suggests, adding that the community also needs a street vending district plan.
"The street vendors need to be put in the Metro Plaza where they were formerly, and they need to opt in. Anyone that does not opt-in cannot vend in or around the area," he said. "It's just like Olvera Street, right? You don't have street vendors next to Olvera Street or Grand Central Market, if you notice. So that's what we would do with the street vendors here."
Claros and other business owners are pressuring First District Council member Eunisses Hernandez to help set up a permanent business improvement district to ensure MacArthur Park is safer for residents and businesses.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
