Fed-up business owners in Hollywood, California, have raised funds to try to do something about homeless tents that are driving away customers, but the city has demanded they stop immediately.
The owner says he paid to have the planters installed. Two years of struggle Protests against homeless encampments have threatened their business.
“The mayor should be ashamed. It’s terrible that so many small businesses have fled and left.”
City officials finally cleared the encampment in early June. To prevent it from returning, the store owners set up planters and flower beds that customers could walk through. The store owners said they repeatedly tried to reach out to police and city officials for help, but were ignored.
Instead of assisting the owners, the city is reportedly demanding that all planters be removed by Monday morning.
“We’ve literally watched our entire neighborhood leave,” Andrew Monheim, owner of Monheim Microphones, told KTLA-TV. “I think one of the saddest things right now is there are no small businesses left. The mayor should be embarrassed because it’s disgusting that so many small businesses have fled.”
The city sent notices to owners on Friday, telling them the planters were obstructions and needed to be removed by Monday or city crews would remove them.
“Tourists should be proud to be walking down the street instead of defecating and urinating on the ground.”
Monheim is furious with the city.
“You should be proud that tourists are walking the streets instead of defecating on the ground and scattering feces and urine,” he told the officials. “You should be proud that money is flowing into the city.”
Paul Cammarata, owner of the legendary music studio Sunset Sound, has criticized city officials for not doing enough for years.
“It’s been a frustration for me and all of our employees,” he said. “They’ve been blocking our entrance and preventing us from removing the bins. It’s obviously an inconvenience for customers who come in to see what’s going on and they have to drive through it when they come in.”
Cammarata He told KABC TV He spoke with the mayor, who assured him that homeless tents would not be set up again.
Monheim also said he would not comply with orders to remove the planter and that he might chain it down to prevent city crews from removing it.
“They won’t move on Monday,” he said simply.
The interview with Monheim was published on KTLA’s YouTube channel.
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