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LA City Council Delays Vote to Criminalize Homelessness

Gavin Quinton | News Editor

Santa Monica’s picturesque beachfront property, Chess Park has recently been closed until further notice. The park once utilized by families and students has become a hotspot for crime.

The iconic beachfront park by the name of Chess Park was officially closed on Oct. 28 after The Recreations and Park Commission (RAPC) unanimously voted to remove chess tables and benches from public access. Chess Park is a .29 acre plot of land mere feet away from the city’s iconic muscle beach and Santa Monica. This vote, taken at a town hall meeting, was in reaction to reports of stabbings, public drug use, and prostitution at the park. Chess Park, is another public park that was recently closed because of the homeless epidemic in L.A. county. The park is frequented by chess clubs, and groups of children in the summer months. Over the years the park has been subject to deterioration.

On Monday, Nov. 15, at 12:32 p.m., a concerned citizen called the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) to report a man threatening pedestrians with a large metal pole at Chess Park. As officers arrived on the scene, the suspect ran up the block. Before pursuing the man, the officers corroborated reports made about the park. SMPD officers cited rampant homelessness as the biggest issue at a family-oriented park.

Mark, a man who calls the streets of Santa Monica his home, spoke about the community that surrounded the park. “People from all over come down here to have a good time,” Mark said. “ Everyone is good to each other.”

Mark has been living on the city’s streets for the past 20 years. He first moved to Santa Monica from Chicago following the death of his parents. “We knew they was closing the park for a while. They don't like us being here.” said Mark.

While RAPC deemed the park closed, seating and picnic tables are still accessible to the public for now. The park's closure currently affects the park’s namesake chess pieces. The chess pieces once at Chess Park are now locked behind a padlock and fence and unavailable to the public. RAPC has voted to remove all public seating from the park. No date has been set for the official closure of the park.

Roger Golden has lived on the streets of Santa Monica for the past two years, and described himself as moving from city to city as a nomad. “I am not technically homeless, I am home free. My position was a conscious decision.” said Golden.

Golden shared that he frequents Chess Park. Regarding the deterioration he has witnessed take place in Santa Monica, Golden said, “the level of insanity that goes through that park is remarkable. Just sit in Chess Park for an afternoon and you will see.”

Golden blames the park’s closure on lack of enforcement in Santa Monica rather than the homeless population. “It is unfair to blame the homeless population when there is no effort to contain violent criminal acts,” he said.

At a public hearing on Oct. 28, RAPC reported a lack of reduction in crime near Chess Park after requesting additional resources from local police including increased patrols.

Gavin Quinton | The Corsair

Two unhoused individuals tend to their encampment spaces at Skid Row in Los Angeles, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2021.