Watch now (24 mins) | Yes, that's a real job, held by Estela Lopez, who has railed for years at the city's neglect of this once-thriving industrial area.
Dear Sam, I am still grateful to you coming to USC to talk with the freshmen class that read your book Dreamland. I know it made an impact. I will be in touch soon. Best to you and your family, Erin
Btw, I still do free Zoom calls with classes or book groups of any kind that read one of my books. they're a joy to do....thanks for noting that meeting years ago....
Thanks Erin! yes, I'd agree. It's amazing to me to see the examples of dynamism and decay in the same district -- people waking up early and working hard next to people languishing in tents, dying slowly.
One reason I’ve been so stridently annoying in my pushback towards some of the political commentators who criticize LA is that this shit has been going on for 40, 50, 60, 70 years now. It didn’t just start yesterday. It won’t be fixed overnight.
People really only began to care about Skid Row when the problems it experiences began spreading all across the city (in small doses).
If Bunker Hill hadn’t been cleared out of population in the 60’s, I wonder how much pushback there would have been towards allowing the deterioration of Skid Row and the anything goes mentality. Because then people would have had to live with it up close.
It’s ironic to me that the successful redevelopment of abandoned office space into lofts on Main and Spring Streets in particular would only further exacerbate the problems of Skid Row by further pushing people into that area.
I hope people watch this cause it’s extremely educational.
Btw, my late grandfather used to own a factory down on Paloma Street (before they sold and moved their operations out to the Valley). They used to suffer break-ins and all sorts of crime problems. Though nothing like what’s being dealt with today.
"People really only began to care about Skid Row when the problems it experiences began spreading all across the city (in small doses)."
Yes, and you can say that the nature of homelessness -- tented on sidewalks -- started first in Skid Row, then spread to other parts of the city, and really, across many regions of the country....
It never ceases to amaze me how people who never venture to Skid Row will talk about how bad their area has become, when it is not even close to what Skid Row is.
I understand the practicality of tents. I think there is a 4th Amendment expectation of privacy for occupants. The problem is, it blocks the sidewalk. And what Estella describes as the previous equilibrium (people being asked to pack it up in the morning) seems reasonable under the circumstances. Fine, you can no longer afford a place to live and have no place to go. You need protection from the elements when you sleep. But, it can't become a permanent fixture on the streets.
There are many who suggest that there's no mental health or drug issue here. It's solely economics. I find it interesting that none of the Palisades Fire victims appear to be living in tents on the street. (Mind you, the destruction of homes there and people moving into other spaces has created major rental market issues and housing price increases for everyone else).
Thank you Sam and Estela. As an L.A. native myself, growing up in Northeast Los Angeles, and volunteering with Catholic Charities during my high school years, I , like Estela have watched skid row change over the past 50 years. Our unwillingness to address the réal issues, and instead "prétend" it is better to "respect" their désire to live on the street is stupid and unrealistic. Our "Harm réduction" méthod for HIV has been used to enable harm and violence. I don't have the answers, but I can truthfully report that the millions of dollars being used annually "to help the homeless" has not worked. The stores, fish warehouses and toy warehouses need their neighborhoods returned to them. And returned to the Angelenos that want to do business in that area.
Dear Sam, I am still grateful to you coming to USC to talk with the freshmen class that read your book Dreamland. I know it made an impact. I will be in touch soon. Best to you and your family, Erin
Btw, I still do free Zoom calls with classes or book groups of any kind that read one of my books. they're a joy to do....thanks for noting that meeting years ago....
Thanks Erin! yes, I'd agree. It's amazing to me to see the examples of dynamism and decay in the same district -- people waking up early and working hard next to people languishing in tents, dying slowly.
A few more additional thoughts.
One reason I’ve been so stridently annoying in my pushback towards some of the political commentators who criticize LA is that this shit has been going on for 40, 50, 60, 70 years now. It didn’t just start yesterday. It won’t be fixed overnight.
People really only began to care about Skid Row when the problems it experiences began spreading all across the city (in small doses).
If Bunker Hill hadn’t been cleared out of population in the 60’s, I wonder how much pushback there would have been towards allowing the deterioration of Skid Row and the anything goes mentality. Because then people would have had to live with it up close.
It’s ironic to me that the successful redevelopment of abandoned office space into lofts on Main and Spring Streets in particular would only further exacerbate the problems of Skid Row by further pushing people into that area.
I hope people watch this cause it’s extremely educational.
Btw, my late grandfather used to own a factory down on Paloma Street (before they sold and moved their operations out to the Valley). They used to suffer break-ins and all sorts of crime problems. Though nothing like what’s being dealt with today.
"People really only began to care about Skid Row when the problems it experiences began spreading all across the city (in small doses)."
Yes, and you can say that the nature of homelessness -- tented on sidewalks -- started first in Skid Row, then spread to other parts of the city, and really, across many regions of the country....
It never ceases to amaze me how people who never venture to Skid Row will talk about how bad their area has become, when it is not even close to what Skid Row is.
I understand the practicality of tents. I think there is a 4th Amendment expectation of privacy for occupants. The problem is, it blocks the sidewalk. And what Estella describes as the previous equilibrium (people being asked to pack it up in the morning) seems reasonable under the circumstances. Fine, you can no longer afford a place to live and have no place to go. You need protection from the elements when you sleep. But, it can't become a permanent fixture on the streets.
There are many who suggest that there's no mental health or drug issue here. It's solely economics. I find it interesting that none of the Palisades Fire victims appear to be living in tents on the street. (Mind you, the destruction of homes there and people moving into other spaces has created major rental market issues and housing price increases for everyone else).
This is absolutely brilliant. Thank you for having her on!