Lake Merritt neighbors want Oakland to take action over recent violence, sideshows
OAKLAND – Many people living near Oakland's Lake Merritt feel helpless with the recent shootings and sideshow activity. They accused city leaders of not doing enough to address the violence and dangerous sideshows on Lakeshore Avenue.
"I thought about moving. But I'm not in an economic position right now to do that. If I was, I would leave," said neighbor Leeann Alameda.
She's not alone. Many Lakeshore Avenue neighbors have already moved out in recent months, saying they are tired of the constant noise and violence.
"The last three years were extremely hard. It impacted my health. I was depressed. I was stressed," said Alameda.
Alameda has lived near the lake for 24 years. She said things have never been this bad.
Just in the last seven months, five murders around the lake, which include four homicides in one cul-de-sac of Lakeshore Avenue and a man whom police said was killed for trying to stop a burglary on Grand Avenue. Neighbors said that's on top of other shootings and robberies in the neighborhood.
Last June, a shooting during a large Juneteenth celebration killed one man and injured multiple people.
"I am so fed up, I am so fed up by the politics of the city and the lack of accountability," said Alameda.
She and many neighbors recently wrote to Mayor Libby Schaaf and their district councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas, pleading for a comprehensive plan to enforce and stop this kind of bad behavior.
"I have received no response from any of the elected officials," said Alameda.
And neighbors said when they complain publicly, people call them racist.
"It is not racist to want to be able to live in your neighborhood safely," said Ana-Marie Jones, a Lake Merritt neighbor of 10 years.
"I can't do it anymore. I want to age in place here. It does not feel healthy. It does not feel safe," said Renee Dyer, who has lived near the lake for 40-plus years.
Leeann said they feel helpless. And until the city does something, they don't feel safe walking around the lake.
"With the situation and the environment that is happening now at the lake, we can't, we can't use it," said Alameda.
"(Lake Merritt) is our crown jewel. But now it is literally the backdrop to levels of crime that we have not seen before," said Jones.
KPIX 5 reached out to the Oakland mayor and a couple of councilmembers for a response.
Councilmember Carroll Fife responded back, saying the city needs more resources to address the root causes of gun violence.
Fife said she plans to work with the community on trainings for safety awareness and make the environment around the lake less amenable to bad behavior. A couple of weeks ago, the city said it would suspend overnight parking in the Lakeshore Avenue cul-de-sac that has seen four recent homicides add brighter lighting to deter crime.
