At least seven homeless people who were living at the intersection of Glendale Boulevard and Alessandro Street, near the entrance to the 2 Freeway in Echo Park, had to be relocated, as the site prepares for landscaping. According to the Housing office, the people have been placed in transitional housing.
In a public statement a few weeks ago, City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell declared that “with people successfully housed, we broke ground at the location on a major $720.000 beautification project funded by my office”.
What The Project Intends
The idea of the whole project is to provide environmental benefits, with almost 500 drought-tolerant California native plants. Furthermore, they also want to repair the natural slope to prevent further erosion, and the retaining low wall, as well as provide proper surface drainage.
The Councilmember later added that “this is proof that housing people and moving important public works projects forward are not mutually exclusive”.
The decision has already sparked an intense debate on social media, where some neighbors are questioning the cost of the project while others are praising O’Farrell for “trying to make the neighborhood better for everyone to live in & I for one appreciate it.”
The complete statement from O’Farrell is here.
