Venice's struggles with responding to the people who live and work on its streets have always been unique--from overnight RV parking to street vendors on the Boardwalk to new tenants named Google, Venice presents its own specific set of weirdo issues. Well, a group called the Venice Stakeholders Association, representing those residents who "[support] slow growth, protection of the limits of the Venice Local Coastal Specific Plan, neighborhood safety, better traffic circulation, increased parking for residents, neighborhood beautification projects, historic preservation and protection of coastal waters," has taken a look around the rest of the city and decided they're jealous of other neighborhoods' homeless crackdowns. Yo! Venice! reports that an attorney for the group has sent a letter (pdf) to Mayor Villaraigosa and the general manager of the Department of Rec and Parks comparing (unfavorably) the city's custody of Venice's city-owned park spaces to that of other public space around the city. Specifically, the letter asks the city to "take action immediately to address the chronic and illegal use of the Venice Beach Recreation Area (VBRA) for camping purposes in violation of various City ordinances, and specifically the widespread occupation of the grassy areas of the VBRA during daytime hours by persons lying in sleeping bags and bedrolls." Basically, the VSA thinks that the LAPD looks the other way in Venice, while other parks around the city are in "pristine condition," namely the new (homeless-unfriendly) City Hall Park and the park next to LAPD Headquarters, and that the recent law banning sleeping in all city parks should apply in Venice, just as it does in Downtown Los Angeles.
· Venice Stakeholders: City Policy Results in "Skid Row" Conditions in Venice Beach [Yo! Venice!]
· Will Boardwalk Crackdowns Turn Venice Into Santa Monica? [Curbed LA]
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