Spike in crime impacting local businesses
Some Hollywood residents who spoke to CBSLA said that with several Starbucks locations closing due to safety concerns, it is a reminder that that everyday life is becoming unsafe.
RELATED: Starbucks to permanently close 6 LA locations after reported drug use by public, crime concerns
"The weekends on Hollywood Boulevard, it's crazy," said Hollywood resident Roger Montgomery.
Starbucks customer Jorge Tellez said that staying aware of your surroundings is key.
"You have to have your head on a swivel because never know what's going to happen to you," he said.
Yet another Hollywood resident, Liz Venz, said she doesn't feel safe doing much of anything there.
"I can't get coffee. Like, it's crazy, you can't walk to work, you can't live comfortably," Venz told CBSLA.
The news that six Los Angeles-area Starbucks, including the Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street location, due to safety concerns is not a surprise to many residents.
Asked if he's ever seen anything bad at the Hollywood and Vine Starbucks location, Tellez didn't mince words.
"Oh, every day there's something going on," he said, "like a homeless person inside tossing food around."
Montgomery agreed that part of the problem is homelessness.
"The homeless is going in there stealing, using drugs in the bathroom," he said.
Julia Lenci manages Ike's Sandwich Shop on Vine Street. It just opened in January, but she also used to work at a downtown Starbucks.
"People would come in with duffel bags and take all of our merchandise and run out," she said.
As far as safety concerns at the Ike's Sandwich Shop she now works at, Lenci said it's not much better.
"It's gotten progressively worse," she said.
Lenci said she's seen people steal lollipops, spend way too long in the restroom and her personal vendetta, people using a water cup for soda. She said in one instance, she actually stepped in.
"He starts pouring it and so I just took it and poured it out and threw it away, and he was like, 'Can you get fired for that?' and I'm like, 'No, but you can get out of the store,'" she said.
Many of the people who spoke to CBSLA were also unsure of what could be done about these issues.
"It's kind of disappointing. It really falls on the politicians why this is closing," Tellez said.
Mitch O'Farrell, the councilman who represents Hollywood, released a statement that read in part:
"Angelenos deserve to feel safe where they live and work. That's why we recently approved a City budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, that hires several hundred police officers to meet our attrition rate. This is in addition to...piloting the City's first unarmed model of crisis response for Angelenos experiencing homelessness, mental health episodes and substance abuse disorders in Hollywood..."
LAPD Chief Michel Moore came out yesterday, saying that he had been in touch with Starbucks over the last several months, but evidently did not speak about the issue of stores closing. Moore did say, however, that a lot of the outreach efforts for homeless people have been working when they approach them and ask them if they can move to a different housing option.
In the meantime, the manager of the Hollywood and Vine Starbucks said he was working on getting his current employees transferred to other locations that are not expected to close.
