*For the third time in recent weeks, I stood Thursday at a massive illegal dumping site in South Los Angeles calling on city officials to clean up the growing health and safety hazard. One day earlier, I was joined by neighborhood residents who have repeatedly demanded the same action.
Their pleas have largely gone unanswered.
For months, I have been documenting and speaking out against illegal street-corner dumping throughout South Los Angeles. Residents of these predominantly Black and Latino, low-income neighborhoods say they feel ignored as trash, furniture, hazardous waste and debris continue to pile up.
The contrast is impossible to ignore. A drive through neighborhoods such as Woodland Hills, Westwood and other more affluent areas shows that large-scale illegal dumping is addressed far more quickly. That disparity raises serious concerns about equity and whether race and income influence how city services are delivered.
City officials have repeatedly maintained that sanitation crews respond promptly to reports of illegal dumping. The continued existence of many of these sites tells a different story. Residents, community advocates and I have had to repeatedly urge the city to remove the waste, with inconsistent results. Some locations are eventually cleared, while others remain untouched for weeks.
Scroll to continue reading
That is unacceptable.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council should require the city’s sanitation department to remove all reported illegal dumping sites in South Los Angeles within 24 hours. Anything less allows environmental hazards, public safety risks and health concerns to continue growing in neighborhoods that have already endured years of neglect.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is the President of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable
(If You Like/Appreciate This EURweb Story, Please SHARE it!)
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Take Over the Street Takeovers and End Them Once and For All | VIDEO
We Publish Breaking News 24/7. Don’t Miss Out! Sign up for our Free daily newsletter HERE.
Leave a Reply