Problems continue in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles as business leaders and community members complain about drug use, trash and homelessness – issues that are very visible in the area.
In late August, Norm Langer threatened to close Langer’s Deli across the street from the park after nearly 80 years in business.NBC4 cameras Thursday captured several people doing illegal drugs in the middle of the afternoon as families and community members walked by.“I can imagine how it used to be. I can imagine families walking through the park and riding them little paddle boats that they had in there,” Rice said.
A few blocks away, Miguel was walking his 6-year-old daughter home from school. He expressed hesitation about going through the park with his child. “It’s kind of scary because there are lot of people who are drugged up, and so we are scared to walk through there,” he said.“I don’t really go over there. I try to stay clear of there because there’s a lot of meth, a lot of fentanyl,” Clark said. “I always hold on to my belongings when I go over there.”"The challenges facing MacArthur Park are not new, but we are bringing in unprecedented resources to address the decades of neglect that have devastated the area.
“Where do the kids have to go now? Where do the elderly and stuff – where do they have to go to? You can’t sit in there,” Rice said. “This city is still beautiful, but politicians got to get it together.”