Oakland street, hub of unhoused RV campers, gets overdue clean-up
OAKLAND -- The city of Oakland took action Wednesday, clearing out a longtime homeless encampment that some say has turned an entire block into a place of lawlessness.
It was the East Bay city's latest homeless camp cleanout in the wake of the recent eviction of unhoused residents who were living in the large Wood Street encampment. On Wednesday, crews focused on a block that area business owners say had gotten completely out of control.
But as often is the case with Oakland's homeless crisis, there are two sides to the story.
Curtis Nagengast owns Melrose Powder Coating company on Pearmain Street. As he walks down to the end of the block, he suddenly stops. He's not comfortable going any farther.
"I've been threatened by these people, yes," he said. "They say, 'There's more of us than you!'"
Over the past five years, a group of homeless RV dwellers took over the adjoining block of Pearmain Street, clogging the sidewalks with garbage and attracting crime to the neighborhood.
On his surveillance cameras, Nagengast has recorded armed robberies, fights, drug use, trash dumping--including a guy yanking an unwanted camper off the back of his pickup truck into the middle of the street. Business owners have been frustrated by the lack of response from the city.
On Wednesday, things were looking up for them. Crews arrived in the morning to begin cleaning the street out.
"Today, I'm pleased with the city," said Nagengast as he watched the campers packing up their vehicles. "These people do not like us here running our businesses. They think we should probably go, and they should take over the neighborhood."
Those living in their cars and RVs said they were only given a week's notice. But most said they had nowhere else to go anyway. That included Tim Doyle, who has lived in the area for the past three years.
"We're not breaking the law by being homeless. There's not a law against being homeless," said Doyle. "That guy down there, the Melrose guy, that doesn't help this at all. The footage he showed you? That's old. That wasn't even us. We clean garbage up out here."
But Doyle is honest about it. He admitted that there are those who don't care, and said he understands why the business owners are angry about all the trash.
"Yes I do, I do," he said. "Ok, in general, it is us. I see that. I see that."
But because he's made an effort over the years, Doyle said he's frustrated by the people who show up and ruin it for everyone else. While Wednesday's cleanup seemed like a win for the businesses, on the issue of homelessness, solutions just don't come easy.
Oakland officials say they plan to repave the street. Business owners hope that will discourage the RVs from coming back. But both men knew better than to think that will be the end of it.
"They cleaned it up about five years ago and then they came back," said Nagengast. "And my concern is, are they gone for good this time? And are they going to have a place to go instead of living on our street?"
Doyle simply offered a prediction about where everyone would end up.
"Right back here," he said. "Right back here."