MacArthur Park has long since lost its luster. The cigarette butts, needles, and distracted eyes of homeless people on the street tell the story of the neighborhood’s current state.
On July 9, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared her intention to change that by redecorating the park with a $3 million project called Reconnecting MacArthur Park.
However, people in MacArthur Park are skeptical of the renovation. Can this place be revitalized again?
The city government needs to face the reality of the situation for its plans to work. Change starts by acknowledging what’s currently happening here. On July 10, the day after the announcement of the project plan, the Korea Daily headed to MacArthur Park to get a behind-the-scenes look.
At 11 a.m. on July 10, at the Wilshire Boulevard and Alvarado Street intersection, curses hit the air. The eyes of those spewing profanity have lost focus, indicating that they could be homeless, mentally ill, or on drugs.
There are homeless people in every corner with the slightest shade. Along Wilshire Boulevard alone, about 50 people are lying on the ground.
In MacArthur Park, six people are huddled together, each with a long, silver foil that looks like a cigarette. Around them, objects like butane gas and lighters are scattered on the ground. One of them is bent at the waist, rigid and unmoving, possibly because of fentanyl or the “zombie drug.”
The reality here is that this is a repeat. Back in 2021, former Councilmember Gil Cedillo led a $1.5 million renovation of the park. The effect was minimal.
A contract worker hired by the city named Marquis is responsible for cleaning the four makeshift restrooms in front of the park. “I was still working here in 2021, so what has changed?” he asked.
“All I see is a little bit of grass replaced and no more rats,” he said, looking out over the group publicly doing drugs. “As you can see, things haven’t changed here.”
The park, named after General MacArthur, is also a place where the Korean-American community bonds. In 2017, the Koreatown community planted 50 Mugunghwa trees around MacArthur’s statue in the park.
About 10 members of the volunteer group, Moo Goong Hwa Voluntary Organization, used to come here every second and fourth Saturday of the month to take care of the trees. Nowadays, the city government has asked that they stop for the time being without a deadline.
“This place has been designated as a drug enforcement area for some time now, and it has become so dangerous that we are now afraid to go there even in broad daylight,” said Eungyong Jang, former chairman of the organization.
“The government said it’s going to improve the area starting with the roads. That’s not the most urgent and prioritized issue but the homelessness and drug problem is.”
Just walking through the park is making pedestrians cautious, especially when there are needles, condoms, and trash lying on the ground.
Walking past the vendors around the park heads into a small alley. It is right between Alvarado Street and Westlake Avenue. There’s no official street name. It’s simply known as ‘LA Zombie Street’ with many fentanyl addicts.
The alley is filled with the stench of human waste, garbage, and other smells mixed hitting the nose. There are about 30 people, most of whom are hunched over from fentanyl addiction. A few drug addicts are making bizarre noises and walking like zombies. There’s also a homeless man glaring with a baseball bat.
David Kim, who has run a fried chicken restaurant near this alley for 20 years, said, “The park renovation is just a fancy administration by the government that doesn’t work at all,” adding, “After the renovation in 2021, it only worsened the security by attracting new drug addicts and homeless people.”
The playgrounds in the park are currently meaningless. It’s daytime and there’s not a single child in sight. A woman named Bridgette, who was walking her dog nearby, runs an arts nonprofit near 7th Street. “People don’t just come to the park because it went through renovation,” she said. “The city should use that money to create a task force to address real problems like drugs and homelessness and make the park a safe place.”
MacArthur Park is peaceful in a long shot but grim in a close-up. Residents are hoping to see a change that will close this gap.
BY YOONJAE JUNG, JOONHO CHOI, HOONSIK WOO
[jung.yoonjae@koreadaily.com, choi.joonho1@koreadaily.com]
