LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Police today notified the homeless people who pitch tents on First Street between Spring Street and Broadway that they will have to leave the area for the city's New Year's Eve festivities, authorities said.
âThey can be anyplace but there,â Sgt. A. Aguirre of the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Station said.
Patrol officers have told the homeless they must pack up their tents and other belongings and leave the area from about 6 a.m. Monday when the street is shut down until the festivities at Grand park and The Music Center are over, between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. New Year's Day Tuesday when the street is reopened, she said.
There were 10 tents pitched on the street when she last checked, Aguirre said.
Officers allow the homeless to pitch tents on downtown streets at night as long as they do not block entrances to businesses and pack up early in the morning because they don't have other places to go, she said. Many people do not use the winter shelter program because they don't want to leave possessions behind.
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