Los Angeles always tries to outdo San Fran. The folks up north have trash cans that cost $20,000. In L.A., to stop the rats in Venice, those cans cost $50,000 for twelve. Do you know how many homeless you can help with $20k or $50k?
“In 2021, the City approved funding for new rat-proof trash cans in a $1.2 million-dollar package prompted by councilmember Mike Bonin. The package included showers, bathrooms, and other amenities for encampments on 3rd Avenue and the Globe Avenue/405 underpass.
Of the $1.2 million, $50,000 funded twelve new rat-proof trash cans and trash pickup. Trash cans that Swinger said the homeless aren’t using.
The scam artists are making the money meant to help the homeless—no wonder the number of homeless is growing.
New $50K Rat-Proof Trash Cans At 3rd Avenue Encampment ‘Waste of Money’
Rick Springer, Westside Current, 9/29/21
VENICE -New “rat-proof” trash cans on 3rd Avenue in Venice are turning out to be…. well, garbage.
Activist Rick Swinger started advocating for rat-proof trash cans on 3rd Avenue when he said a major homeless encampment on the street didn’t have the right kind of receptacles. “The trash cans we had were rat feeders,” said Swinger. “They didn’t have lids, and the sides were open, making it easy for rats and other rodents to get in.”
Third street has one of Venice’s most significant homeless presence and can have up to forty tents in a one-block area. Problems with rats and other rodents have been reported by Swinger and other residents in the area. “Typhus and other rat diseases are a real concern for the homeless and the surrounding homes,” said Swinger.
In 2019, Public Health officials inspected the area for rats. In a report, inspectors say they observed a homeless community, and although they didn’t see rat fecal material at the time of their visit (indicating rats)—they did observe full trash cans. They also noted rodent burrows on the property occupied by Google near the encampments.
In 2021, the City approved funding for new rat-proof trash cans in a $1.2 million-dollar package prompted by councilmember Mike Bonin. The package included showers, bathrooms, and other amenities for encampments on 3rd Avenue and the Globe Avenue/405 underpass.
Of the $1.2 million, $50,000 funded twelve new rat-proof trash cans and trash pickup. Trash cans that Swinger said the homeless aren’t using.
“The new bins aren’t functional,” said Swinger. “The openings are too small to put trash in so the homeless are just piling their trash around it.” Swinger said the new bins are more like-bear-proof trash cans used in the national forest. “If we had a bear problem, these would be great.”
In addition, Swinger said the exorbitant amount of money spent on just twelve trash cans for a small area still leaves other parts of Venice, including adjacent streets to Third Avenue, with the old-style trash cans.
“It’s a disaster and a waste of taxpayers’ money,” said Swinger. “In addition to needing functional trash cans, we still desperately need new rat-proof trash cans on Hampton, Sunset and other parts of Venice. It’s getting worse with the pollution problems. The people who come and dump bread and perishables are increasing odds of typhus and bubonic plague.”
The $1.2 million package also included $150,000 for mobile shower and an additional $800,000 for portable bathrooms. A big part of the cost for bathrooms is staffing to prevent portable toilets from being trashed or taken over for illicit activity.
Having “attended, well-kept toilets and handwashing stations is less costly than when people get typhus, hepatitis A or other serious illnesses,” said Liz Forer, chief executive of the Venice Family Clinic, in an LA Times report.
According to Swinger, however, the restrooms are only monitored by the attendants 12 hours a day. “They tow the bathrooms in at 7:00 a.m. and tow them out at 7:00 p.m.. So what do they think the homeless do for the 12 hours overnight…hold it?”
“What we need is to look at real solutions to the homeless problem,” said Swinger. “We need to look at KOA style campgrounds that aren’t in neighborhoods that we can offer safe parking, tents and wrap-around services. We need a place for RV’s to park. This is what they should have done right out the door. Instead, we have a bridge to nowhere and a bunch of empty promises and costly mistakes from our councilman.”
