Westchester residents outraged at proposal to extend homeless protections

Dozens of Westchester are upset after seeing their beloved park turn into a homeless encampment.

Their outrage has only grown after hearing about a potential extension of a 24-hour safe parking zone for the homeless at Westchester Park.

"We have done our part," said Tom Brewster, a member of the Westchester Park Tennis and Pickleball League. "We've had safe parking here for a while. Time to move on."

During the pandemic, when many city facilities were shut down, some parking spaces at Westchester Park were designated as safe parking zone for the homeless. These pandemic-era regulations were set to expire within a month on Oct. 2. However, last week Councilman Mike Bonin's office requested an extension and hoped to create another 24-hour safe parking zone at the park. 

"We thought were in the clear," said Westchester resident Debra Huston. "We waited for the double cross, and it came."

The plan would replace the already existing space and reduce the capacity to 15 vehicles, many of which would be coming from the nearby Ballona Wetlands. If it is granted, the zone would be next to The First Flight Childcare Center.   

In recent months, the city has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve the tennis and baseball areas. While he's excited for youth programs to take advantage of the new upgrades, Brewster is concerned about the encampments being just feet away from the new facilities.

"They're doing a lot to get the park back," he said. "But we've had the one eye sore, and we still don't have the confidence of the public to come back because they don't feel that it's safe." 

Residents said they have been subjected to racist slurs, inappropriate behavior and violent attacks. 

"We've had homeless men walking onto the court and exposing themselves," said Huston. 

Huston and other residents are going to plead with the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks to deny the safe parking extension at the Commissioners' meeting Thursday morning.

"The children, the seniors should come first," said Brewster. And there have to be places to put them that are not ..., this close to the children."

Bonin responded to the backlash in a statement that said in part: 

"Safe Parking is a solution to homelessness, and the kind of program we need to scale up, not kill," he said. "My district saw the largest reduction in homelessness in the City of L.A., because we are doing what is proven to work: housing and services to end homelessness, not laws to push it from neighborhood to neighborhood."