Daily Archives: November 18, 2015

Nov 18

Create Overnight Parking Lots Now!

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City of Los Angeles Should Act Quickly To Provide Overnight Parking For Folks Living in Vehicles (FLIVS)

Now that the City of Los Angeles is moving forward to tackle the massive issues of homelessness, they could do one thing quickly that does not cost a lot of money and would go a long way to help out those living in their vehicles.  Here are a few suggestions from the Gypsy Cool Council:

1.  Find parking lots where FLIVS (Folks Living In Vehicles) can park safely overnight

2.  The lots should have some kind of bathroom facilities, at least porta-potties.

3.  Rules and hours clearly posted.  Suggest start at 6pm with all FLIVS to be out of the lot by 9:00am.

4.  No drinking or illegal drug use allowed.  No loud or bad-behavior will be tolerated.

5.  Security to be on site for the protection of the vehicle’s occupants.

6.  This is to be a place of refuge, not a place for police to troll the lot to issue citations for minor vehicle violations, like expired license tags.  These people need help of all kinds.  They do not need to have their situation made worse by cops harassing them over minor vehicle issues.

7.  Possibly social service folks could at times be on hand to provide whatever services are possible.

8.  Information should be made available about local places to get free or low-cost food.

The City could contact other cities who have run such overnight lots to learn from them about the issues that have surfaced, like trash and other problems.  San Diego and Santa Barbara have run these types of facilities in the past.

Another thing that could be immediately done is to revise the “No Overnight Parking” signs that the Department of Public Works has put up all over town.  An example would be Riverside Drive, south of Griffith Park, where FLIVS and especially RVs used to park. The City has posted “No Parking from 2am – 5am” signs, eliminating the street for overnight FLIVS.  These signs should be taken down.  The street can be controlled from permanent camping by simply having 2 hour parking from 9:am to 6pm signs put up.  It is really cruel and discriminating to put up signs all over the city to keep poor folks, visitors, and vacationers from parking in those areas at night.  The signs should start coming down now.

Posted by Uncle Paulie

If you have comments on this issue send to gypsycool@live.com

Nov 18

Los Angeles Homeless Capitol of America

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City of Los Angeles To Appoint  “Czar” To Coordinate All City Activities for Homeless

On November 17, 2015 the Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution to create a position to oversee all the City’s activities and departments dealing with the massive homeless problem. The resolution passed unanimously.

Homeless Motion

As the American economy continues to collapse for the poor and middle class, more and more folks are forced into the streets or to living in their vehicles.  Rents in major cities like Los Angeles continue to escalate, leading to an increase in folks with no hope of even getting a cheap apartment, much less a house.  Meanwhile, the City continues to defy logic by allowing thousands of luxury apartments to be constructed and thousands of houses to be “mansionized”.  If there really is a drought, then why is the City promoting the wild out-of-control construction of thousands of more housing units for the wealthy?

This is America.  We Don’t Need a “Czar”

Many questions remain unanswered.  The City claims that new Federal regulations from the various  bureaucracies have to be addressed by new coordinating efforts of the various City departments dealing with homeless issues.  No one has yet been named as the new “Czar” of the homeless.  The term itself is somewhat demeaning, it conjures up references to a long-ago time when Russia was ruled by a Czar, an absolute autocrat eventually toppled by a popular revolution that led to the creation of the Soviet Empire. This is America.  We don’t need a “Czar” – which is language actually used in the Council’s official motion.  A Department Director would be fine.