Hollywood business owners install planters to keep out homeless tents and promise to defy city order to remove them
Fed up business owners in Hollywood, California, pooled their resources to do something about the homeless tents that were driving away customers, but the city demanded that they stop immediately.
The owners said that they paid to install planters after a two-year battle against homeless encampments threatened their businesses.
'The mayor should be embarrassed because it’s disgusting how many small businesses have fled and left.'
At the beginning of June, city officials finally cleared out the encampments. In order to prevent them from returning, the owners installed planters and garden beds that would allow customers to walk through. They said that they tried numerous times to get help from law enforcement and city officials but were ignored.
Instead of supporting the owners, the city is reportedly demanding that they remove all the planters by Monday morning.
“We’ve literally watched all our neighbors leave,” said Monheim Microphones owner Andrew Monheim to KTLA-TV. “I think one of the saddest things right now is small business retention. The mayor should be embarrassed because it’s disgusting how many small businesses have fled and left.”
The city sent a notice to the owners on Friday telling them that the planters were obstructions and needed to be removed by Monday or city workers would clear them out.
'You should be proud to have tourists walking down the street instead of defecation and p*** on the ground.'
Monheim is furious at the city.
“You should be proud to have tourists walking down the street instead of defecation and p*** on the ground,” he said, addressing the officials. “You should be proud to have money coming in and flowing through your city.”
Paul Camarata, the owner of the legendary music studio Sunset Sound, had been denouncing the lack of effort from city officials for years.
"It's been a frustration for me and all my employees," he said. "They were blocking our entrance, blocking our trash can removal. Obviously, not conducive for the clients that come in here to see what's going on and they've got to wade through it driving in."
Camarata told KABC-TV that he spoke to the mayor, and she assured him that the homeless tents would not return.
Monheim went on to say that he would not comply with the order to remove the planters, and he might even lock them down with chains in order to prevent city workers from removing them.
"They will not move on Monday," he said simply.
The interview with Monheim was published at KTLA's YouTube channel.
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