LA puts up fence to keep out encampment in Beverly Grove, residents skeptical of long-term change

BEVERLY GROVE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A fence is now in place along a stretch of San Vicente Boulevard between Wilshire and La Cienega to keep out a homeless encampment that at times featured people in the nude.

The move comes after L.A. Mayor Karen Bass visited the area and had many of the people living at the homeless encampment there placed into housing as part of the Inside Safe program.

Dozens of tents and unhoused people had taken residence in the area, causing safety concerns among residents and customers visiting businesses nearby.

The encampment also made people uncomfortable at times, as it was known to occasionally feature the unhoused in the nude.

Business owners and residents had been petitioning Bass' office for months in an attempt to get the growing encampment removed. And last Friday, the mayor's office began doing just that.

Many of the tents and unhoused people at the encampment have been taken to city housing. The city also placed a temporary fence blocking most of the area where the encampment used to be to prevent it from immediately returning.

Some remain skeptical that the encampment will never return, but restaurant owner Damaris Radut was happy to see the city clearing the encampment and cleaning up the area.

"They've been cleaning up the last few days," she told Eyewitness News.

Bass, when she visited the encampment on Friday, welcomed the progress and expressed her hope that the entire encampment is one day permanently cleared.

"I don't think relief is going to be complete until all of the tents are gone and they don't come back," Bass said.

Radut shared what Bass told business owners during her visit.

"She was going from business to business just to reassure us what's been happening and what's gonna happen from now on," said Radut.

But Johnny Hoops, a resident of Beverly Grove, is skeptical of the city's ability to permanently remove the encampment.

"I hope they can do something about it. I just don't think it's ever gonna happen because they can do whatever they want to on the streets. Do anything on the streets. They can get away with anything on the streets," said Hoops.

In addition to putting up a fence, the city is planning on doing things to beautify the area as well.