Skid Row, Los Angeles

{{Short description|Neighborhood in the US}}

{{Other uses of|Skid Row|Skid Row (disambiguation)}}

{{use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}

{{Infobox settlement

| official_name = Skid Row

| native_name =

| other_name = Central City East

| settlement_type = Neighborhood

| image_skyline = Los Angeles Skid Row.jpg

| imagesize = 325px

| image_caption = San Julian Street south of 5th Street, 2006

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| pushpin_map = United States Los Angeles Downtown

| pushpin_label_position = right

| pushpin_mapsize = 325

| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Downtown Los Angeles

| coordinates = {{coord|34.044232|-118.243886|display=inline,title|format=dms}}

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = United States

| subdivision_type1 = State

| subdivision_type2 = County

| subdivision_type3 = City

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| subdivision_name1 = California

| subdivision_name2 = Los Angeles

| subdivision_name3 = Los Angeles

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| leader_title = City Council

| leader_name = Kevin de León

| leader_title1 = State Assembly

| leader_name1 = John Pérez (D)

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| area_total_sq_mi = 0.431

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| postal_code = 90013

| area_code = 213

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| leader_title2 = State Senate

| leader_name2 = Gilbert Cedillo (D)

| leader_title3 = U.S. House

| leader_name3 = Jimmy Gomez (D)

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Skid Row is the unofficial name for a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles{{Cite web|url=https://empowerla.org/srnc/|title=Skid Row Neighborhood Council|work=empowerla.org|access-date=September 22, 2019|archive-date=March 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324042142/https://empowerla.org/srnc/|url-status=live}} officially known as Central City East.{{Cite web|url=https://skidrow.org/about/history/|title=History Timeline|website=Skid Row Housing Trust|access-date=September 25, 2020|archive-date=May 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516001334/https://skidrow.org/about/history/|url-status=live}}

Skid Row contains one of the largest stable populations of homeless people in the United States, estimated at over 4,400, and has been known for its condensed homeless population since at least the 1930s.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-06-26/60-million-state-grant-to-aid-l-a-county-in-expanding-homeless-services-in-skid-row|title=$60-million state grant to aid L.A. County in expanding homeless services in Skid Row|last=Vives|first=Ruben|date=June 26, 2023|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=March 12, 2024|archive-date=January 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113014333/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-06-26/60-million-state-grant-to-aid-l-a-county-in-expanding-homeless-services-in-skid-row/|url-status=live}} Its long history of police raids, targeted city initiatives, and homelessness advocacy make it one of the most notable districts in Los Angeles.{{Cite web|url=https://la.curbed.com/2017/12/14/16756190/skid-row-homeless-history|title=Why Skid Row—the nation's largest homeless encampment—formed in Downtown LA|last=Meares|first=Hadley|date=December 14, 2017|website=Curbed LA|language=en|access-date=November 6, 2019|archive-date=December 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214221955/https://la.curbed.com/2017/12/14/16756190/skid-row-homeless-history|url-status=live}}

Covering 50 city blocks immediately east of downtown Los Angeles, Skid Row is bordered by Third Street to the north, Seventh Street to the south, Alameda Street to the east, and Main Street to the west.[https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1490887.html "Jones v. City of Los Angeles"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525024157/https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1490887.html |date=May 25, 2012 }} on Findlaw.com

Etymology

{{further|Skid row}}

The term "skid row" or "skid road," referring to an area of a city where people live who are "on the skids," derives from a logging term. Loggers would transport their logs to a nearby river by sliding them down roads made from greased skids. Loggers who had accompanied the load to the bottom of the road would wait there for transportation back up the hill to the logging camp. By extension, the term began to be used for places where people with no money and nothing to do gathered, becoming the generic term in North America for a depressed street in a city.Partridge, Eric; Beale, Paul (ed.) A Concise Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English New York. Macmillan (1989). p.405

Demographics

File:Cafe Waba, S San Pedro St. and E 6th St. downtown LA, USA - panoramio.jpg and East Fifth Street, 2011]]

In 2019, the Central City East's racial demographics consisted of 39.7% Black/African American, 22.3% White, 16.3% Asian, 15.1% Hispanic or Latino, 2.5% American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.6% Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander, 3.1% 2+ races, and 0.5% other races.

According to the city's data, 53.1% of the population were born in California, 27.0% were born in another state, 18.8% were born in another country, and 1.1% were native residents born outside of the United States.{{Cite web |title=4700 - 2020 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count—Skid Row |url=https://www.lahsa.org/documents?id=4700-2020-greater-los-angeles-homeless-count-skid-row.pdf |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=www.lahsa.org |archive-date=June 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615225058/https://www.lahsa.org/documents?id=4700-2020-greater-los-angeles-homeless-count-skid-row.pdf |url-status=live }}

The population was estimated to be approximately 10,580 individuals over 0.392 square miles, though there is currently no up-to-date approximation due to limited data. In 2023, the Los Angeles Longitudinal Enumeration and Demographic Survey estimated that the population increased by 13% after the COVID-19 pandemic, though no exact population estimate was provided.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-26 |title=Homeless population up 18% in 3 of LA's high-priority areas – Hollywood, Venice, Skid Row: Report |url=https://abc7.com/homeless-skid-row-hollywood-venice/12738498/ |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=ABC7 Los Angeles |language=en |archive-date=June 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615225056/https://abc7.com/homeless-skid-row-hollywood-venice/12738498/ |url-status=live }} Out of the 10,850 estimated to be in the population, 7,004 were identified as male, and 3,574 were identified as female.

The age groups in the region were spread out with 7.78% being under the age of 18, 1.38% from 18 to 24, 60.94% from 25 to 54, 19.49% from 55 to 61, and 10.41% who were 62 years of age or older. The median age for the male population was 50.9 years, and the median age for the female population was 50.3 years. Among these numbers, veterans made up 9.90% of the 10,850.

The per capita income for the neighborhood in 2000 was $14,210. About 41.8% of the population were below the poverty line.{{Cite web|url=http://www.laalmanac.com/LA/la11c.htm|title=Poverty by neighborhood: L.A. Almanac|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220104621/http://laalmanac.com/LA/la11c.htm|archive-date=February 20, 2009|access-date=February 4, 2009}} In 2008, the median household income for Skid Row and the surrounding areas was $15,003.{{Cite web|url=http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/downtown/|title=Downtown|website=Mapping L.A.|access-date=November 6, 2019|archive-date=July 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723030814/http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/downtown/|url-status=live}} In 2019, the median household income for Skid Row residents was approximately $12,070, where 68.9% of the population was below the poverty line. The overall income for Skid Row continued to be below the poverty line at the time, with $67,418 being the average median household income for the Greater Los Angeles population. In 2019, the average household size was 9.9 people living in a single unit. 60.2% of the households in Skid Row were family households consisting of married-couple families with children, 25.2% were single-mother households, and 18.7% were married-couple families.

History

=1880s through 1960s=

At the end of the 19th century, a number of residential hotels opened in the area as it became home to a transient population of seasonal laborers.{{Cite web |last=Meares |first=Hadley |date=2017-12-14 |title=How Skid Row formed in Downtown LA |url=https://la.curbed.com/2017/12/14/16756190/skid-row-homeless-history |access-date=2022-05-07 |website=Curbed LA |language=en |archive-date=December 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214221955/https://la.curbed.com/2017/12/14/16756190/skid-row-homeless-history |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/444/444.F3d.1118.04-55324.html |title=444 F.3d 1118 |publisher=Bulk.resource.org |access-date=March 11, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100517210145/http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/444/444.F3d.1118.04-55324.html |archive-date=May 17, 2010 }} By the 1930s, Skid Row was home to as many as 10,000 homeless people.{{cite news |last=Irvine |first=Huston |date=March 26, 1939 |title=Skid Row Serenade |work=Los Angeles Times |page=I6}} It supported saloons, residential hotels, and social services, which drew people from the populations they served to congregate in the area.{{cite book |last=Wild |first=Mark |date=June 2, 2008 |title=Street Meeting: Multiethnic Neighborhoods in Early Twentieth-century Los Angeles |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-94176-2 |page=152 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b_CekfFgglkC&pg=PA152 |access-date=May 25, 2013}}

When railroads were constructed on the outskirts of the downtown area the agricultural fields to the east transitioned into industrial zones. These industrial areas attracted a predominantly transient male workforce, many of whom traveled by train seeking employment in railroad-related industries or seasonal work in agriculture.{{Cite web |last=Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles |date=October 2005 |title=Los Angeles' Skid Row |url=https://lachamber.com/clientuploads/LUCH_committee/102208_Homeless_brochure.pdf |website=Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce}} It became "an enclave of small hotels, movie theaters and cheap eateries that served transient workers in seasonal industries and nearby railroads".{{Cite news |last=Holland |first=Gale |date=2021-04-22 |title=Skid row is skeptical of judge's order to sweep homeless people into shelters |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-04-22/skid-row-skepticism-judge-order-to-sweep-homeless-people-into-shelters |access-date=2022-05-06 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506190746/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-04-22/skid-row-skepticism-judge-order-to-sweep-homeless-people-into-shelters |url-status=live }}

{{quote box

| quote = The population is probably more motley than that in a similar district of any other American city. Jews, Greeks, and Italians in the doorways of pawnshops and secondhand clothing stores vie with one another to lure the unwary passer-by inside. A fat German runs a beer parlor and just across the street a dapper Frenchman ladles up 5-cent bowls of split pea soup. A large, blond woman named Sunshine, born in Egypt, manages one of the cleaner rooming houses. A few Chinese practically monopolize the hand laundry business, and Japanese the cheapest cafes and flophouses. American Indians barter for forbidden whiskey. Chattering Mexicans loiter on the steps leading up to a second-floor hotel. Dapper Negroes, better dressed than any other vagabonds, wander by in riotous groups.

| source = Huston Irvine, Los Angeles Times (March 26, 1939)

| bgcolor = Cornsilk

| width = 28%

| align = right

| title = Skidrow Serenade

}}

In June 1947, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) chief Clemence B. Horrall ordered what he called a "blockade raid" of the whole Skid Row area. Over 350 people were arrested. Assistant Chief Joseph Reed, who claimed that "at least 50 percent of all the crime in Los Angeles originates in the Skid Row area," stated that there had been no "strong arm robberies" on Skid Row as late as one week after the raid. Long time residents, however, were skeptical that the changes would last.{{cite news |last=Boyle |first=Hal |date=June 14, 1947 |title=Skid Row; The West's Bowery |publisher=Evening Independent |page=10 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UswLAAAAIBAJ&dq=los-angeles%20skid-row&pg=5989%2C1344783 |access-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-date=May 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507162247/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UswLAAAAIBAJ&dq=los-angeles%20skid-row&pg=5989,1344783 |url-status=live }}

In the 1950s, the area "evolved into a place where alcoholics and other people down on their luck could get a meal and a bed".{{r|LAT 2021-04-22}} In 1956, the city of Los Angeles was in the midst of a program to "rehabilitate" Skid Row through the clearance of decaying buildings.{{cite news |last=Sibley |first=John |date=July 3, 1960 |title=Slum Landlords Under Cities' Fire |work=The New York Times |page=1}} The program was presented to property owners in the area as an economy measure. Gilbert Morris, then superintendent of building, said that at that point the provision of free social services to the approximately one square mile of Skid Row cost the city over $5 million per year as opposed to the city average of $110,000 per square mile annually.{{cite news |last1=Stern |first1=Walter H. |title=WIDE FIGHT URGED ON DECAY IN CITIES; Building Owners Called On to Take Active Part to Halt Deterioration of Areas Fight Against Decay Urged |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/06/28/archives/wide-fight-urged-on-decay-in-cities-building-owners-called-on-to.html |work=The New York Times |date=June 28, 1956 |access-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616015505/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/06/28/archives/wide-fight-urged-on-decay-in-cities-building-owners-called-on-to.html |url-status=live }} The city used administrative hearings to compel the destruction of nuisance properties at the expense of the owner. By July 1960, the clearance program was said to be 87% complete in the Skid Row area. With increased building codes during the 1960s, owners of residential hotels found demolition to be more cost-effective than adhering to repairs. The total number of these units is estimated to have dropped from 15,000 to 7,500 over the following decade.{{Cite web|url=http://www.lachamber.com/clientuploads/LUCH_committee/102208_History_of_Skid_Row.pdf|title=History of Downtown Los Angeles' "Skid Row"|website=LA Chamber of Commerce|access-date=January 27, 2013|archive-date=February 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228180242/http://www.lachamber.com/clientuploads/LUCH_committee/102208_History_of_Skid_Row.pdf|url-status=live}} Many residents of the area found themselves homeless with the loss of half of the affordable housing provided by hotels.

=1970s containment zone=

Skid Row was established by city officials in 1976 as an unofficial "containment zone", where shelters and services for homeless people would be tolerated.{{cite news |last1=Flaming |first1=Daniel |last2=Blasi |first2=Gary |title=Los Angeles: Why tens of thousands of people sleep rough |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49687478 |work=BBC News |date=September 19, 2019 |access-date=September 21, 2019 |archive-date=November 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116171352/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49687478 |url-status=live }}

During the 1970s, two Catholic Workers — Catherine Morris, a former nun, and her husband, Jeff Dietrich — founded the "Hippie Kitchen" in the back of a van. Over forty years later, in March 2019, aged 84 and 72, they remained active in their work feeding Skid Row residents.{{Cite news

| last = Streeter

| first = Kurt

| date = April 9, 2014

| title = A couple's commitment to skid row doesn't waver

| work = Los Angeles Times

| url = https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-c1-catholic-workers-20140409-dto,0,4244985.htmlstory

| access-date = April 9, 2014

| archive-date = April 9, 2014

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140409225217/http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-c1-catholic-workers-20140409-dto,0,4244985.htmlstory

| url-status = live

}}

Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, many Vietnam veterans found themselves drawn to Skid Row, due to the services and missions already in place there and feeling outcast from other areas. Like those after World War II, many of them ended up on the streets. It was around this time that the demographics of Skid Row shifted from predominantly White and elderly to those there today (see: Demographics).

=1987 crackdowns=

In February 1987, LAPD chief Daryl Gates, backed by then-Mayor Tom Bradley, announced plans for another crackdown on the homeless on Skid Row.{{cite news |last1=Boyarsky |first1=Bill |last2=McMillan |first2=Penelope |date=May 30, 1987 |title=L.A. City Attorney, Mayor Tangle Over Police Plan to Jail Homeless |work=Los Angeles Times |page=A13}} Police and firefighters conducted a number of sweeps through the area but the plan was abandoned due to opposition by advocates for the homeless.

When Gates announced in May that the crackdown would resume, Los Angeles City Attorney (and future mayor) James K. Hahn responded that he would not prosecute people arrested in the planned sweeps.{{cite news |last1=Boyarsky |first1=Bill |last2=McMillan |first2=Penelope |date=May 30, 1987 |title=Won't Prosecute Homeless Who Are Arrested—Hahn |work=Los Angeles Times |page=1}} Hahn stated that he was "not going to prosecute individuals for not having a place to stay. I simply will not prosecute people for being poor, underprivileged and unable to find a place to sleep until I'm convinced that a viable alternative to sleeping on the streets exists." Gates, still backed by Bradley, responded: "As the elected city attorney of Los Angeles, Mr. Hahn has a responsibility to file prosecutable cases which are presented to him by the Los Angeles Police Department."

A few days later, then-Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky introduced a proposal that the city stop enforcing its anti-camping laws on Skid Row until adequate housing could be found for all its residents.{{cite news |last=McMillan |first=Penelope |date=June 3, 1987 |title=L.A. Council Asks Police to Scrap Arrests of Homeless Unless Rooms Are Available |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |edition=Orange County |page=A11}} The council rejected Yaroslavsky's proposal, but after hearing testimony from Assistant Police Chief David Dotson describing the LAPD's intended crackdown methodology, the council passed a motion asking Gates not to enforce the anti-camping laws until adequate housing could be found for the area's residents.

=2000s patient dumping=

In September 2005, hospitals and law enforcement agencies were discovered to be "dumping" homeless people on Skid Row. Then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ordered an investigation and William Bratton, LAPD chief at the time, claimed that the department was not targeting homeless people specifically, but only people who violated city ordinances.{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Joseph G. |last2=Malone |first2=Linda A. |last3=Marcus |first3=Paul |last4=Moohr |first4=Geraldine Szott |date=July 17, 2012 |title=Criminal Law |publisher=LexisNexis |isbn=978-1-57911-678-1 |page=63 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zMuiJLbCW2UC&pg=PT63 |access-date=May 25, 2013}} The Los Angeles City Attorney investigated more than 50 of about 150 reported cases of dumping.{{cite book |last=Jansson |first=Bruce S. |date=2011 |title=Becoming an Effective Policy Advocate: From Policy Practice to Social Justice |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-495-81239-5 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OmkE7Zs91uMC&pg=PA55 |access-date=May 25, 2013}} By early 2007, the city attorney had filed charges against only one hospital, Kaiser Permanente. Because there were no laws specifically covering the hospital's actions, it was charged, in an untested strategy, with false imprisonment. In response to the lack of legal recourse available to fight patient dumping, California state senator Gil Cedillo sponsored legislation against it in February 2007.{{cite news |last1=Winton |first1=Richard |last2=Blankenstein |first22=Andrew |date=February 22, 2007 |title=California bill would ban patient dumping |work=Herald-Journal |page=4 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SgsqAAAAIBAJ&dq=los-angeles%20skid-row&pg=6980%2C2769487 |access-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-date=May 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507162247/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SgsqAAAAIBAJ&dq=los-angeles%20skid-row&pg=6980,2769487 |url-status=live }}

Since Mike Feuer took office as City Attorney in 2013, he has settled eight additional cases of patient dumping with various hospitals around Los Angeles. These cases have been a part of a larger attempt to solve the issue, in addition to working with some hospitals on long-term solutions. The total settlements from all eight have been over four million dollars.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/the-ugly-history-of-downtown-patient-dumping/article_05fa6cea-8165-11e8-96aa-dbaced2025ed.html|title=The Ugly History of Downtown Patient 'Dumping'|last=Regardie|first=Jon|website=Los Angeles Downtown News - The Voice of Downtown Los Angeles|date=July 9, 2018|language=en|access-date=November 8, 2019|archive-date=November 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108230936/http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/the-ugly-history-of-downtown-patient-dumping/article_05fa6cea-8165-11e8-96aa-dbaced2025ed.html|url-status=live}}

=2000 to 2009=

In 2002, newly appointed LAPD Chief William Bratton announced a plan to clean up Skid Row by, among other things, enforcing the anti-camping ordinance. A man named Robert Lee Purrie was cited twice and arrested for violating the ordinance in December 2002 and January 2003. His possessions, consisting of his tent, "blankets, clothes, cooking utensils, a hygiene kit, and other personal effects", were thrown into the street by the police.{{cite court |litigants=JONES v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES |vol=444 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=1118 |pinpoint=1124 |court=United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit |date=14 April 2006 |url=https://casetext.com/case/jones-v-city-of-los-angeles-21 |access-date=4 December 2021 |quote=The police removed his property from his tent, broke it down, and threw all of his property, including the tent, into the street. |postscript=Settlement can be found at 505 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 2007)}}

File:MidnightMission.jpg

In April 2006, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in its suit against the city of Los Angeles, filed on behalf of Purrie and five other homeless people, finding that the city was in violation of the 8th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and sections of the California Constitution guaranteeing due process and equal protection and prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment in referral to Robinson v. California.{{cite news |last1=Weinstein |first1=Henry |last2=DiMassa |first2=Cara Mia |title=Justices Hand L.A.'s Homeless a Victory |id={{ProQuest|422101669}} |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-apr-15-me-homeless15-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=15 April 2006 |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616014206/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-apr-15-me-homeless15-story.html |url-status=live }} The court stated that "the LAPD cannot arrest people for sitting, lying, or sleeping on public sidewalks in Skid Row." The court said that the anti-camping ordinance is "one of the most restrictive municipal laws regulating public spaces in the United States."

The ACLU sought a compromise in which the LAPD would be barred from arresting homeless people or confiscating their possessions on Skid Row between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. The compromise plan, which was accepted by the city of Los Angeles, permits sleeping on the sidewalk except "within 10 feet of any business or residential entrance" and only between these hours.{{cite news |last=Moore |first=Solomon |date=October 31, 2007 |title=Some Respite, if Little Cheer, for Skid Row Homeless |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/us/31skidrow.html |access-date=May 25, 2013 |archive-date=June 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627051858/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/us/31skidrow.html? |url-status=live }}

Downtown development business interests and the Central City East Association (CCEA) came out against the compromise. On September 20, 2006, the Los Angeles City Council voted to reject the compromise.{{cite web |date=September 20, 2006 |title=Handing Skid Row to the drug dealers |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-sep-20-oe-westwater20-story.html |access-date=March 11, 2013 |archive-date=March 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310035559/http://articles.latimes.com/2006/sep/20/opinion/oe-westwater20 |url-status=live }} On October 3, 2006, police arrested Skid Row's transients for sleeping on the streets for the first time in months.{{cite web |date=October 3, 2007 |title=LAPD Gentrifies Skid Row |publisher=Colorlines |url=http://colorlines.com/archives/2007/10/lapd_gentrifies_skid_row.html |access-date=March 11, 2013 |archive-date=March 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331010335/http://colorlines.com/archives/2007/10/lapd_gentrifies_skid_row.html |url-status=live }} On October 10, 2006, under pressure from the ACLU, the city tacitly agreed to the compromise by declining to appeal the court's decision.

=2006 Safer Cities Initiative=

{{main|Safer Cities Initiative}}

The Safer Cities Initiative (SCI) was a 68-week policy implemented in 2006 by the Los Angeles Police Department dealing with homeless encampments in Skid Row.{{Cite web|url=https://www.crimesolutions.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=182|title=Program: Safer Cities Initiative - CrimeSolutions.gov|website=www.crimesolutions.gov|access-date=November 8, 2019|archive-date=February 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226195737/https://crimesolutions.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=182|url-status=live}} The policy, led by former police chief William Bratton, assigned approximately 50 police officers to the Skid Row area to enforce stricter policing of offenses in accordance with the broken windows theory of policing. Through policing these offenses (including non-violent offenses such as jaywalking or littering),{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-skid-row-police-20140716-story.html|title=L.A. leaders are crafting new plan to help homeless on skid row|date=July 16, 2014|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=November 8, 2019|archive-date=November 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191108150034/https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-skid-row-police-20140716-story.html|url-status=live}} the LAPD sought to establish a heightened appearance of public order as a punitive deterrent for criminals. One study by the LAPD claimed that four years post-implementation, crime rates had reduced by approximately 46%, while deaths dropped approximately 34%.{{cite letter|first=Chief of Police|last=LAPD|recipient=The Honorable Board of Police Commissioners|subject=DEPARTMENT'S RESPONSE TO THE LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK'S REPORT ON THE SKID ROW SAFER CITIES INITIATIVE|language=en|date=March 3, 2011|url=http://www.lapdpolicecom.lacity.org/030811/BPC_11-0103.pdf}}

While the Los Angeles Police Department has stood by the policy's effectiveness and its impact on the local community,{{cite journal |last1=Vitale |first1=Alex S. |title=The Safer Cities Initiative and the removal of the homeless: Reducing crime or promoting gentrification on Los Angeles' Skid Row? |journal=Criminology & Public Policy |date=November 2010 |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=867–873 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-9133.2010.00677.x }} one study suggested that while crime rates have reduced, higher incarceration rates were a contributing factor to the area's increasing homeless population.{{cite book |last1=Blasi |first1=Gary |title=Policing Our Way Out of Homelessness: The First Year of the Safer Cities Initiative on Skid Row |date=2007 |id={{NCJ|237249}} |oclc=187332352 |url=http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/downloads/pubs/faculty/wolch_2007_report-card-policing-homelessness.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130711183338/http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/downloads/pubs/faculty/wolch_2007_report-card-policing-homelessness.pdf |archive-date=11 July 2013 }} The 27,000 arrests over the duration of the short time period of 2005 to 2009, with 1,200 of those arrests being among the SCI's targeted unhoused population for unpaid citations, showcase the community's concerns for the Safer Cities Initiative tactics for targeting homelessness. These claims have been echoed by local activists, who argue that the initiative's frequent use of arrest warrants and tickets prevented individuals in-need from acquiring long-term housing and career opportunities.

=2010s=

In 2012, the Skid Row Running Club was founded by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig Mitchell, as an effort to improve the livelihood of those in the area. A documentary titled “Skid Row Marathon” was made about the group, which includes homeless people, police officers, and convicted felons.{{cite news |title=Los Angeles judge who started Skid Row running club the focus of new documentary |url=https://abc7.com/skid-row-marathon-running-club-judge-craig-mitchell-runners/5618656/ |work=ABC7 Los Angeles |date=15 October 2019 |access-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616015303/https://abc7.com/skid-row-marathon-running-club-judge-craig-mitchell-runners/5618656/ |url-status=live }}

The city came to an agreement in May 2019 that removed the limit on the number of possessions kept on the street in the neighborhood. The agreement allows the city to still seize any items that threaten public safety and health, as well as large “bulky items.” This includes most pieces of furniture or appliances. Items that do not fall into those categories will be stored for 90 days. If an item is deemed important enough, such as medication, it must be able to be claimed within 24 hours.{{cite news |title=L.A. agrees to let homeless people keep skid row property — and some in downtown aren't happy |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-homeless-cleanup-property-skid-row-downtown-lawsuit-mitchell-case-20190529-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=29 May 2019 |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 30, 2019 |archive-date=August 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810085752/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-homeless-cleanup-property-skid-row-downtown-lawsuit-mitchell-case-20190529-story.html |url-status=live }}

=2020s COVID-19 pandemic=

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the requirement of individuals to take down their tents for sidewalk cleanings was suspended, with the intent of not displacing people during the cleanings, which might spread COVID-19.{{cite news |title=L.A. council votes to resume major cleanups near shelters |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-29/la-to-resume-major-cleanups-near-shelters-critics-say-it-puts-homeless-people-at-risk |work=Los Angeles Times |date=29 July 2020 |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 15, 2023 |archive-date=June 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615230307/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-29/la-to-resume-major-cleanups-near-shelters-critics-say-it-puts-homeless-people-at-risk |url-status=live }}

Another issue at the time was maintaining hygiene at a time when strict sanitation protocols were recommended. An LA Times reporter, James Queally, wrote about the effect of the city's mandated lockdown orders and strict protocols on the citizens. The closing down of public restrooms, stores and gyms made it hard for many in the area, primarily the homeless, to clean up. In an effort to resolve this, Los Angeles city officials set up 360 hand washing stations and a dozen mobile shower trucks. To offer more resources, recreation centers were turned into housing shelters.{{cite news |title='She hadn't showered in nine days.' L.A. makes it hard to be homeless, avoid coronavirus |id={{ProQuest|2384094085}} |url=https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-03-29/coronavirus-homeless-wash-hands-hygiene-los-angeles-shutdown-shower-of-hope |work=Los Angeles Times |date=29 March 2020 |access-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616013113/https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-03-29/coronavirus-homeless-wash-hands-hygiene-los-angeles-shutdown-shower-of-hope |url-status=live }}

Culture

Skid Row is home to many artists.{{Cite web|url=https://hyperallergic.com/471810/state-of-the-art-at-the-skid-row-history-museum-archive-los-angeles-poverty-department/|title=The Hundreds of Artists Living in LA's Skid Row|date=November 19, 2018|website=Hyperallergic|language=en-US|access-date=November 4, 2019|archive-date=November 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104231007/https://hyperallergic.com/471810/state-of-the-art-at-the-skid-row-history-museum-archive-los-angeles-poverty-department/|url-status=live}} Due to its location bordering districts such as the Historic Core and the Arts District, Skid Row often hosts events that cross neighborhood borders.{{cite journal |last1=Collins |first1=Brady |last2=Loukaitou-Sideris |first2=Anastasia |title=Skid Row, Gallery Row and the space in between: cultural revitalisation and its impacts on two Los Angeles neighbourhoods |journal=Town Planning Review |date=June 2016 |volume=87 |issue=4 |pages=401–427 |doi=10.3828/tpr.2016.27 |s2cid=148474623 }} In 2019, a performance group called the Los Angeles Poverty Department began providing artistic resources to Skid Row, primarily in the form of theater classes and performances.{{Cite web|url=https://animatingdemocracy.org/resource/making-case-skid-row-culture-findings-collaborative-inquiry-los-angeles-poverty-department-|title=Making the Case for Skid Row Culture: Findings from a Collaborative Inquiry by the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD) and the Urban Institute {{!}} Animating Democracy|website=animatingdemocracy.org|access-date=November 4, 2019|archive-date=October 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028222415/https://animatingdemocracy.org/resource/making-case-skid-row-culture-findings-collaborative-inquiry-los-angeles-poverty-department-|url-status=live}} Los Angeles Times journalist Margaret Gray claimed that audience members "somehow felt like part of a family" when the performers were on stage and noted "while many charitable organizations focus on warehousing and policing homeless populations, LAPD attempts to remind them of their unique humanity, to empower them to take collective responsibility for their neighborhood and one another's health and safety".{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-poverty-department-review-20190411-story.html|title=Review: Public safety was the theme. Los Angeles Poverty Department made this show so much more|date=April 11, 2019|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=November 4, 2019|archive-date=October 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012073134/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-poverty-department-review-20190411-story.html|url-status=live}} Since 2009 the organization has also sponsored the Festival for All Skid Row Artists.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lapovertydept.org/projects/festival/|title=Festival for All Skid Row Artists|last=Department|first=LA Poverty|date=November 16, 2014|website=lapovertydept.org|language=en-US|access-date=November 4, 2019|archive-date=July 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709184521/https://www.lapovertydept.org/projects/festival/|url-status=live}}

The "Skid Row City Limits Mural" was created solely by volunteers to express the community's feelings about the history and modern state of the neighborhood [see Landmarks]. The "Dear Neighbor Mural" is another Skid Row art piece, aimed at making housing a right for all citizens.{{Cite web |title=72U's 'Dear Neighbor' Murals Address the Need for Supportive Housing in LA {{!}} LBBOnline |url=https://lbbonline.com/news/72us-dear-neighbor-murals-address-the-need-for-supportive-housing-in-la |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=lbbonline.com |language=en}} In addition, Skid Row Karaoke is a long time tradition of residents, which is weekly and open to all.{{Cite web|url=https://la.curbed.com/2016/4/12/11405274/los-angeles-skid-row-neighborhood-guide|title=General Jeff's Neighborhood Guide to LA's Skid Row|last=Barragan|first=Bianca|date=April 12, 2016|website=Curbed LA|language=en|access-date=November 4, 2019|archive-date=November 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104170553/https://la.curbed.com/2016/4/12/11405274/los-angeles-skid-row-neighborhood-guide|url-status=live}}

Crime

Within the LAPD Central Area, which includes Skid Row and other areas in Downtown Los Angeles, crimes showed a 30% decrease year over year in Skid Row after the introduction of the Safer Cities Initiatives in 2006.{{cite web |last1=Blasi |first1=Gary |last2=Stuart |first2=Forrest |title=Has the Safer Cities Initiative in Skid Row Reduced Serious Crime? |date=September 2008 |id={{NCJ|237185}} |url=https://wraphome.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/safer_cities.pdf |access-date=June 16, 2023 |archive-date=August 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802235810/https://wraphome.org//wp-content/uploads/2008/09/safer_cities.pdf |url-status=live }}

Within the first two years of the 2006 implementation of the Safer Cities Initiative in Skid Row, 18,000 arrests were made and 24,000 citations were given for non-violent offenses. This is 69 times the rate of policing in the rest of Los Angeles.{{cite journal |last1=Stuart |first1=Forrest |title=Constructing Police Abuse after Rodney King: How Skid Row Residents and the Los Angeles Police Department Contest Video Evidence |journal=Law & Social Inquiry |date=2011 |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=327–353 |doi=10.1111/j.1747-4469.2011.01234.x |jstor=23011895 |s2cid=142934058 }}

Between July and October 2019, the crime breakdown of 997 reported crimes within 0.5 miles of Skid Row's center was 21.97% vehicle break-in/theft, 27.08% larceny, 24.67% assault, 13.14% robbery, 6.12% burglary, 4.61% motor vehicle theft, 1.04% sex crime, 0.6% arson and 0.4% homicide.{{Cite web|url=https://www.crimemapping.com/map/ca/losangeles|title=CrimeMapping.com - Helping You Build a Safer Community|website=www.crimemapping.com|access-date=November 6, 2019|archive-date=January 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114145233/https://www.crimemapping.com/map/ca/losangeles|url-status=live}}

Government and infrastructure

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) serves the neighborhood with Station No. 3 in the Business District, one in the West and Station No. 9 in Skid Row. Station No. 9 operates one engine, one truck, two ALS rescue ambulances, and one BLS rescue ambulance. As of October 2023, it is the busiest firehouse in Los Angeles.{{Cite web |title=LAFD Fire Station 9 Named Busiest Station In The Country {{!}} Los Angeles Fire Department |url=https://www.lafd.org/news/lafd-fire-station-9-named-busiest-station-country |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=www.lafd.org |archive-date=October 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004195751/https://www.lafd.org/news/lafd-fire-station-9-named-busiest-station-country |url-status=live }} Fire engines and ambulances serving the neighborhood have historically had "Skid Row" emblazoned on their sides.[http://www.firestation9skidrow.com/help.html Fire Station 9 Skid Row] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929033644/http://www.firestation9skidrow.com/help.html |date=September 29, 2007 }} On June 1, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that fire officials planned to change the legend on the vehicles to read "Central City East". Many residents supported the change, but it was opposed by firefighters and some residents who take pride in the sense that they live in a tough area.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the Central Health Center in Downtown Los Angeles, serving Skid Row."[http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phn/docs/HealthCenter/central.pdf Central Health Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527190304/http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phn/docs/HealthCenter/central.pdf |date=May 27, 2010 }}." Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Retrieved March 18, 2010.

Services for homeless people in Los Angeles are centralized in Skid Row.{{cite book|author=Juanita K. Hunter|title=Nursing and Health Care for the Homeless|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=egn5Vl_6JZQC&pg=PA34|access-date=May 25, 2013|year=1993|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-1-4384-0731-9|page=34}} Examples include the Volunteers of America, the Union Rescue Mission, The Jonah Project, Downtown Mental Health (a branch of the Department of Mental Health), LAMP, Downtown Women's Center, The Weingart Foundation, Los Angeles Mission, Fred Jordan Mission, The Society of St. Vincent de Paul's Cardinal Manning Center,{{Cite web |url=http://svdpla.org/index.php/cardinalmanning/contents/about_cardinal_manning_center |title=Svdpla.org |access-date=July 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008215355/http://svdpla.org/index.php/cardinalmanning/contents/about_cardinal_manning_center |archive-date=October 8, 2011 |url-status=dead }} and Midnight Mission. In 2007, Union Rescue Mission opened Hope Gardens, a facility outside of Skid Row which is exclusively for women and children.{{Cite web|url=https://urm.org/services/hope-gardens/|title=Hope Gardens Family Center for Women and Children|access-date=September 25, 2020|archive-date=October 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001022358/https://urm.org/services/hope-gardens/|url-status=live}}

=Transportation=

The community is served primarily by eight Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus lines:{{Cite web|url=http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/maps/system_map.pdf|title=Metro System Map}}

==Local lines==

==Rapid lines==

{{Main|Metro Rapid}}

Landmarks

File:Phase 1 of Skid Row Super Mural.jpg

  • Star Apartments, a residential housing complex opened in October 2012, built specifically for the needs of the homeless.{{cite web|last1=Lowery|first1=Wesley|title=Innovative housing for the homeless being built in downtown L.A.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2012-dec-16-la-me-skid-row-housing-20121216-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 16, 2012|access-date=October 27, 2014|archive-date=October 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011154036/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/16/local/la-me-skid-row-housing-20121216|url-status=live}}
  • Indian Alley is the unofficial name given to a stretch of alley, in reference to the significance the area held for indigent American Indians from the 1970s to the 1990s.{{cite book|last=Frazier|first=Ian|title=On the Rez|year=2000|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=0374226385|pages=[https://archive.org/details/onrez00fraz_0/page/134 134, 135]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/onrez00fraz_0/page/134}} Indian Alley comprises a block of Werdin Place, running south from Winston Street to East 5th Street. It is bounded to the west by Main Street and to the east by Los Angeles Street.
  • The Skid Row City Limits Mural is an 18-by-50-foot mural displayed on San Julian Street, created in 2014. It features a map demarcating Skid Row's officially recognized boundaries alongside an official-looking sign, replete with city seal, reading "Skid Row City Limit, Population: Too Many." This is the initial installation of a mural project that is planned to eventually cover the whole wall on the San Julian block north of 6th Street. Installed in compliance with the city's mural ordinance, the project was organized by Skid Row activist General Jeff Page with local street art crew Winston Death Squad, and carried out with the labor of Skid Row citizens. Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar's office has hailed the mural, saying, "It's community pride on the one hand, it's cleverly done and it creates conversation and debate, which often great public art does."{{cite web|last1=Schaefer|first1=Samantha|title=For Skid Row Residents and Advocates, Mural is a Sign of Survival|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-skid-row-mural-20140824-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=August 23, 2014|access-date=September 16, 2014|archive-date=September 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917091217/http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-skid-row-mural-20140824-story.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Romero|first1=Dennis|title=Skid Row Gets City Recognition Through Murals|url=http://www.laweekly.com/informer/2014/08/06/skid-row-gets-city-recognition-through-murals-photos|website=LA Weekly|publisher=LA Weekly|access-date=September 16, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006154413/http://www.laweekly.com/informer/2014/08/06/skid-row-gets-city-recognition-through-murals-photos|url-status=live}}

Notable residents

  • Charles Bukowski - Famous writer spent his youth on Skid Row, where he took inspiration for his books.
  • Danny Harris – Olympic hurdler and silver medalist. He is currently not living there.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jul-27-sp-streeter27-story.html|title=Addiction turned out to be his biggest hurdle|work=The Times-News|date=July 27, 2008|author=Kurt Streeter|access-date=March 3, 2015|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121106/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/27/sports/sp-streeter27|url-status=live}}
  • Nathaniel AyersJuilliard-trained multi-instrumentalist found to have been schizophrenic and homeless, subject of the 2009 movie The Soloist.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-me-lopez17apr17-column.html|title=Violinist Has the World on 2 Strings|date=April 17, 2005|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=February 12, 2021|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413113928/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-me-lopez17apr17-column.html|url-status=live}}
  • Lil Peep (born Gustav Elijah Åhr, 1996-2017), rapper and singer, lived in Skid Row for a period.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/dec/17/lil-peep-remembered-by-sarah-stennett|title=Lil Peep remembered by Sarah Stennett|date=December 17, 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=June 16, 2024|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=October 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024035436/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/dec/17/lil-peep-remembered-by-sarah-stennett|url-status=live}}

See also

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Further reading

  • Stuart, Forrest (2016). Down, Out, and Under Arrest: Policing and Everyday Life in Skid Row. University of Chicago Press.