East Oakland Residents Outraged By Illegal Garbage Dumping; Mayor Promises Action
OAKLAND (KPIX) -- Hundreds of furious and fired-up residents of East Oakland let city leaders know it is time to end illegal dumping.
The group packed into St. Louis Bertrand Church holding signs showing mounds of garbage dumped every day on their sidewalks.
"Dead animals, garbage, trash, abandoned vehicles you name it -- we see it," Ysela Jimenez said after rousing the group with an energetic speech.
"I think that our families shouldn't live in this dumping ground -- it's *not* a dumping ground and it's affecting our health," she said.
KPIX interviewed residents on Douglas Avenue in October who waited three hours for the city to remove human waste dumped on their sidewalk from an RV.
"We are just as furious that people are disrespecting our city, that people are dumping trash on our streets," Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf said.
She admits the city hasn't been able to keep up with the massive amount of trash being left here.
"In the last five years we have seen illegal dumping double in the city of Oakland," Schaaf said.
The group made the mayor promise to deliver harsher punishments to illegal dumpers. Schaaf also told the crowd the city would provide security cameras to catch the criminals and is working to purchase new dump trucks to more effectively clear the mess.
"I have faith and I hope that they'll come out and that's what I expect," Ysela Jimenez said after the meeting.
The group has multiple dates scheduled with the mayor and city councilman Larry Reid to ensure the problem is fixed.
