Op-Ed: The Disappearing Councilwoman

LOS ANGELES – If you want to see LA City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky disappear faster than a toupee in a tornado, ask her to face angry parents. Last week, I, along with many other fed-up parents, attended a webinar that was supposed to be hosted by Katy Yaroslavsky, the subject of which was homeless encampments in violation of LA County Municipal Code 41.18. In the past year, the corner of our school and synagogue has been inundated with a revolving door of homeless encampments that have become increasingly dangerous. 

At the webinar, Ms. Yaroslavsky gave us all a 5-minute lecture on section 41.18 and then promptly signed off. She did not take a single question or address a single specific issue. The participants could not even see who else was on the call – perhaps to hamper our ability to organize. The rest of the webinar amounted to LAPD and city council employees encouraging us to file incident reports and call 311. That is not enough. 

About a year ago, I was personally assaulted by a homeless man who was well-known in the area. After I had dropped my children off at school, I saw a homeless man on the corner of Olympic and La Cienega attack a woman waiting to cross the street. I quickly backed up to try and flee to safety but the man, at least a foot taller than me, was quicker. He punched me in the face so hard that I fell into the street and oncoming traffic. There were multiple witnesses and video footage of the incident. It was a terrifying traumatic experience that no Angeleno should experience. 

After the attack, not a single officer showed up to the school, the scene of the crime, or to my house. After filing a police report and including video footage of the assault, LAPD and Yaroslavsky’s office literally did nothing. When I tried to follow up, an unimpressed police officer on the phone told me that LAPD does not track responses to incident reports. We continued to see the same homeless man in the area for weeks after my attack. 

A few weeks ago, another homeless man lying on that exact corner was seen brandishing a knife as a teacher at my children’s school walked by. That very morning, only moments earlier, I had witnessed about 90 students waiting to cross the street just inches from the same homeless man. 

During the webinar, I raised my experience as an example of how calls and paperwork to nowhere are not effective enforcement mechanisms of 41.18. I was assured by the Senior Lead LAPD Officer for our area that he would personally follow up on my incident. The response I received from Ms. Yaroslavsky’s office wasto email her directly, which I did. The response from LAPD – it was “not clear” if the incident was ever even assigned to an officer. The video footage – which I delivered in person – was lost. And round and round we go. 

If there is no way to get Katy Yaroslavsky to respond to parents in her own neighborhood, what hope do the rest of Angelenos have to enforce section 41.18 near their schools? We all deserve better. 

Danielle Mark is an attorney, mother and resident of the 5th District of Los Angeles.  

Editor’s Note: Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of the Westside Current.