Homeless Camps Are Morphing Into Larger Homeless ‘Cities’ In LA

A massive homeless encampment in Koreatown has grown into what neighbors describe as a “city” of its own — complete with a tennis court, garden, barbecue pit, and even illegally rigged electricity, according to the NY Post.

“The reason why people are sleeping here is because you leaders are sleeping on not taking initiative and action to clean this place up,” resident Daniel King told ABC7.

Neighbors say they’ve watched people pry open a streetlight, install a surge protector inside, and run extension cords across the street to power the camp. “Thank God it hasn’t rained in a while,” said Sangmin Lee. “It’s a fire hazard … then they run the cable across the street, and it’s a trip hazard for everyone.”

Lee also pointed out, “There’s a tennis court, there’s a garden where they’re growing stuff… There’s a barbecue pit.” Another neighbor, Max Smith, summed it up: “It’s a city in there. It’s crazy. It’s crazy.”

The Post writes that residents say the camp has created safety concerns, with one woman telling ABC7 she avoids walking her dog near the site after being approached by people from the encampment. An ABC7 crew was also threatened while reporting there.

City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky said officials are hamstrung because the property is privately owned. “It’s over-bureaucratic. It’s the city at its worst, sort of not being able to get out of its own way,” she admitted.

The lot belongs to a Delaware-based LLC that has not responded to inquiries. Yaroslavsky said “No Trespassing” signs will soon go up, allowing police to act. Meanwhile, city agencies are ordering the owner to address trash and security issues, and Public Works will wrap the tampered streetlight to stop further power theft.

Mayor Karen Bass’ office said outreach teams have been sent to offer housing to the people living there.

And so, in true Los Angeles fashion, liberal leaders have managed to turn “housing the homeless” into letting them build a better-planned city than the one City Hall runs—complete with amenities, hazards, and zero accountability.