Lower Piedmont Community Neighborhood Safety Efforts

Santa Clara Avenue, Fairmount, Kempton, MacArthur, Harrison, El Dorado

What Happened:

On October 15, 2021 the City of Oakland officially closed the encampment on Harrison and MacArthur due to the increasing violence. All of the residents of the encampment were offered and accepted housing.

History:

During the four-plus years the encampment existed, problems escalated. Street fights, shootings, knife attacks, assaults both among the campers and upon neighbors. It was an active drug dealing site and a chop shop for stolen vehicles. The encampment produced a number of fires, some accidental and some intentional. Dozens of cars, connected to the drug dealing, would stop daily.

The encampment created major health issues for the entire neighborhood. Human waste, needles, debris from the campers and illegal dumpers kept an already understaffed Public Works Department busy. The debris was an ideal breeding ground for rats as the rat population exploded.

Successful Neighborhood Action:

After the closure, our neighborhood group took the action of bringing in private security, from 6:00 PM to 6:00AM each night, to keep the local area safe and prevent re-encampment. We have also begun landscaping areas previously used for dumping.

Our efforts have proven to be very successful - the streets and sidewalks are clear and safe.

We Need Your Help:

Hiring the security service is not cheap and it will become an untenable burden in the long run. Other security options are being considered: reducing security guard service hours or modifying the service to a patrol service where a patrol vehicle drives the area two to three times per evening. If each and every neighbor could contribute $50.00 to $100.00 per month, we can keep the effort ongoing.

Please help if you can. Any support is greatly appreciated.