Boyle Heights and Arts District neighbors push for anti-camping enforcement at Sixth Street PARC

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Boyle Heights and Arts District residents are joining forces to push for enforcement of an anti-camping zone at the park beneath the 6th Street Bridge, which is expected to open next year.

On Thursday, members of the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council voted 13-1 to sign on as supporters after Arts District residents spearheaded a petition calling for the city to implement such a zone for the sidewalks and perimeter around the future park. 

With this vote, the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council is joining the Arts District Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council and the downtown Los Angeles Residents Association in urging Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, Mayor Karen Bass and city staff to move forward with the designation and to coordinate a security plan for the park. 

The move comes after residents on both sides of the Los Angeles River have raised concerns for months about the possibility of homeless encampments forming at the park. Anti-camping zones — established through Los Angeles Municipal Code 41.18 — bar people from sitting, lying, or sleeping in certain public spaces. 

Graffiti is seen at the Sixth Street PARC (Park, Arts, River & Connectivity).

(

Steve Saldivar

/

The LA Local

)

Councilmembers must get buy-in from their colleagues before enacting new 41.18 zones. Proponents, however, point out that the LA City Council in 2024 already endorsed a zone for the 6th Street Bridge, which they believe should extend to the park beneath it. Former Councilmember Kevin de León initiated those efforts.

Jurado, in a statement, said her office is confirming the boundaries as they relate to the park. 

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, efforts to establish or enforce anti-camping zone have received pushback.

In August, the city council approved Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez’s efforts to repeal 12 anti-camping zones that were established under the previous councilmember in District 13. Soto-Martínez’s office said enforcement under the city ordinance interferes with efforts to move unhoused residents into housing.

Jurado said she is open to having “a serious and transparent conversation about how 41.18 is being used and what results it is producing.” She said anti-camping zones are “just one piece of a much larger conversation about keeping this park safe and responding to homelessness.”

“This park represents a major public investment into equitable park space while bridging two historic neighborhoods. Ensuring its success from day one requires the honest dialogue and difficult decisions needed to address legitimate safety and access concerns while recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution,” Jurado said.

Known formally as the Sixth Street PARC (Park, Arts, River & Connectivity), the park will feature an arts plaza, complete with a performance amphitheater, garden and terrace seating. Other amenities include a café, dog park, fitness equipment and sports courts.

Construction of the park began in 2023, just a year after the grand opening celebration of the bridge, which connects historic Boyle Heights with the Arts District neighborhood and crosses the Los Angeles River. 

Rendering of Leonard Hill Arts Plaza at the Sixth Street PARC.

(

Image courtesy of City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering

)

Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council board member Shmuel Gonzales, a local historian and community organizer, voted in favor of an anti-camping zone designation because he wants the park “to be something that ultimately benefits the community.” He said residents fought hard to get the park built on the Boyle Heights side. 

Enforcement of an anti-camping zone would mean “that we’re getting the city to take responsibility,” and it would be a way to deter private security and business improvement districts from bringing “negative capitalist forces into our neighborhood.”

Gonzales said there should be proper signage of anti-camping zones. It should be a fair process, he said, “so that people aren’t surprised and the city knows that they’re responsible through their own signage to facilitate the transition of these people into housing.”

Boyle Heights resident Margarita Amador, the neighborhood council’s secretary, said she wants the park to be “protected, safe and usable for the community.” 

Amador was in support of the neighborhood council “joining forces” with the Arts District and downtown because Boyle Heights, she noted, has the biggest recreational section of the park, including the soccer field and water splash area. 

“We don’t want it to be a MacArthur Park,” she said. “If you don’t have a plan in place, it’s going to become a MacArthur Park … It’s not probably the solution, but at least it’s something that can be enforceable.”

Tom Trafelet, who created the petition, told Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council members that he wants equity on both sides of the bridge. 

“I just don’t want it to be just the Arts District getting everything and you guys getting nothing,” said Trafelet, who has lived in the Arts District for more than 20 years. “I hope that we can work together and join forces and create a safe space for families to come and enjoy it because it’s an absolutely beautiful park.”