A few weeks ago, residents in the district represented by City Councilmember and Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman were less than happy with the seriousness with which she was addressing their concerns related to homeless encampments.
The encampment is located at 7323 Sunset Blvd. and surrounds an AT&T building. It’s located in L.A. City Councilwoman Nithya Raman’s district. Raman toured the encampment one year ago, joined by residents, including Terry S.”She promised. She said that she would be adamantly enforcing ADA compliance. That she’s looking into setting up a safe camping location for the campers. Never happened,” Terry S. said.”In August, 41.18, an ordinance, passed and we were very hopeful because finally we thought that they would have some tools at their disposal,” Lawrence S. said. “But the city councilwoman is only enforcing a part of that ordinance, which is the Care Plus Cleanup program. However, she’s only doing it when she feels like enforcing it, which is three times in 17 months.”The encampment was cleaned on Thursday, but residents told Eyewitness News every time the encampment is cleaned, the unhoused return in the next 24 to 48 hours, which is what happened Friday. Residents say allowing the tents to return isn’t humane.
Her rather trite dismissal of concerns over the location of the encampment next to a school was particularly troubling.
“I don’t think a kid is gonna be safer if an encampment is 10 feet away or 500 feet away from a school.”
But in the era of social media and innovative content creators, her response was met with citizen activists who decided to stage a homeless encampment next to her home to make a point.
Socialist LA mayoral candidate Nithya Raman is getting hammered online after appearing visibly rattled by a staged homeless encampment protest outside her own home.“I’m glad my kids didn’t have to see that,” Raman told comedian Adam Conover on his podcast released Wednesday before adding, “I thought this campaign was going to be about bike lanes and transportation.”Raman was referring to a staged Memorial Day protest outside Raman’s Silver Lake-area home.Footage from the stunt shows homeless people climbing out of tents, staging an open-air barbecue and one individual walking around carrying a bucket as neighbors recorded the scene.
The organizer defended his actions and stated he was not affiliated with rival Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt.
A man who says he helped organize the stunt spoke exclusively with FOX 11 while keeping his identity hidden, citing concerns about political violence. He defended the effort as political messaging.”This is happening all over the city. We brought it to her doorstep so she can see what other people are going through,” he said.The display included tents, trash, old tires and a barbecue set up Monday morning outside Raman’s home….He denied any direct affiliation with Pratt, saying he has “never met him,” but called himself a fan. He also said the effort was funded by a group of donors from across the country.
This entire episode underscores a growing disconnect between political rhetoric and lived reality in Los Angeles, where residents are expected to tolerate conditions their elected officials clearly will not.
Raman’s reaction to a brief, staged encampment outside her own home (complete with concerns for her children’s well-being, I might add) mirrors precisely the fears and frustrations voiced for years by her constituents.
Yet when those same concerns were raised about encampments near schools and neighborhoods, they were brushed aside as inconsequential.
This entire episode shows that true empathy in policy often depends on proximity. It also proves that accountability for the implementation of sound policy may now have to rely more on public spectacle and social media messaging.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY