Long Beach residents say public transportation is making homeless crisis worse

Behind her smile and greeting, Modica's Deli owner Orsa Modica is hiding her fear. 

"We are definitely in a crisis," she said. 

Modica said that the homeless crisis is ruining her beloved City of Long Beach. On Monday morning, a 21-year-old homeless man was arrested for stabbing four people, killing one. Many believe the root of the problem stems from the terminal train station downtown. 

"The A-Line has been turned into a mobile homeless shelter and, unfortunately, the Metro Company is dumping them off here every night," said property manager Joe Harding.

Per Los Angeles Metro policy, all riders, including the homeless, must exit the trains at the end of the line in downtown Long Beach, to allow crews to clean the cars. However, past midnight riders are left with nowhere else to go.

"No information. Nothing else is open. No other services," Harding said. "They're just left to wander."

Harding manages the historic Lafayette Condos and said in recent years, he's spent more than $11,000 to fix property damages.

"We had an armed robbery," Harding said as he listed the incidents at Lafayette. "57 times, I've had to paint the lower section of the building."

In the last two years, Long Beach saw a 62% increase in the number of unhoused people; compared to L.A. which saw a 4% increase.

Two weeks ago, Modica and her fellow business owners went to the downtown station to see the problem firsthand. They say they saw 63 people, mostly homeless, get kicked off the A-Line, one of them defecating right outside the train car. 

"We need help," Modica said. "We need someone to step in."

They brought their concerns to the City Council and convinced Metro to conduct a study on the homeless and its end-of-the-line policy. Modica and others are now hoping for immediate solutions, so downtown doesn't continue to be an unintended dumping ground for the homeless. 

"Maybe, they can check the fares at the very first stop on Del Amo and see who has paid," said Modica. "If they haven't paid,, have them exit the train there."