City Government

Raimondi Park Homeless Asked to Temporarily Vacate

Published

7 years ago

April 30, 2019

Edgar David-Ayala plays with his dog Cope at Raimondi Park in West Oakland. He and other homeless people camped there are being asked to vacate the park temporarily on May 1, and have not been provided a space to store their belongings. Photo by Zack Haber

Oakland’s Public Works Department (PWD) placed a notice on a privately owned portable toilet near Raimondi Park on April 26, instructing homeless residents camped there to temporarily vacate the park on May 1.

The notice states that “public works crews will temporarily close the encampment…to clean the site thoroughly,” and indicates that the clean-up could happen on May 2 instead.

The notice was placed away from the main encampment, on a portable toilet that Raimondi Park residents don’t have access to. As of April 29, most living inside the encampment did not know that the city planned to have them temporarily vacate two days later.

Photo by Zack Haber

“Wow, I didn’t know they said they were coming on Wednesday,” said Edgar David-Ayala, who lives in the park and has been an Oakland resident for over 30 years. David-Ayala claims to have seen these notices twice before in recent months, but both times the city didn’t force any residents to vacate. “I think they’re just trying to scare us,” he said.

One resident who lives in a vehicle near the park and asked not to be named was sympathetic to the city’s desire to clean up the park. She said her own children can’t play there because of all the trash. She wishes folks staying at the park would have less stuff and clean up more.

“It’s a park for children to play in but they can’t because it’s not safe,” she said.

But encampment residents say that staying clean is difficult without regular trash pickup. While the PWD regularly does trash collection from the nearby homeless encampment on Wood Street, it doesn’t offer those services to Raimondi Park. While the city has provided portable toilets to Wood Street’s encampment, they haven’t for Raimondi Park.

Most people staying in Raimondi Park say they don’t know what to expect on May 1, and aren’t sure how to prepare.

The notice offers no way for Raimondi Park residents to contact city representatives. It lists two numbers that residents could call if they have questions or concerns: Operation Dignity and 2-1-1. While both organizations offer homeless services, neither puts them in touch with public works to clarify what’s needed of them.

“I don’t know if they want us to move completely or to just to clean up a little bit and leave for the day,” said Guiseppe Turri, who has camped in the park for about six months.

Dayton Andrews, a housed Oakland resident who organizes politically with homeless residents through the United Front Against Displacement, says the Raimondi Park residents are being asked to leave without any place to go.

“People are being asked to fulfill orders that put them in a more vulnerable position,” he said. The notice asks residents to remove their personal belongings, but they worry about losing property as they don’t have anywhere to store it, and abandoning it could mean that it gets stolen.

Jonas Armenta, who started living in Raimondi Park after his RV caught fire, plans to carry all his belongings with him and roam around the city until he can return if he is asked to vacate.

“I’ve got nowhere else I can go,” he said.

Zack Haber

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Related Topics:homeless encampment homeless services.homelessness housing crisis Oakland Oakland. housing Raimondi Park

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

3 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.

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Black Arts Movement Business District Named New Cultural District in California

Located in the heart of District 3, the BAMBD is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most important centers of Black cultural production — a space where artists, entrepreneurs, organizers, and cultural workers have shaped generations of local and national identity. The state’s recognition affirms the district’s historic importance and its future promise.

Published

1 week ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Carroll Fife celebrates major milestone for Black arts, culture, and economic power in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District (BAMBD) has been selected as one of California’s 10 new state-designated Cultural Districts, a distinction awarded by the California Arts Council (CAC), according to a media statement released by Councilmember Carroll Fife.

The BAMBD now joins 23 other districts across the state recognized for their deep cultural legacy, artistic excellence, and contributions to California’s creative economy.

“This designation is a testament to what Black Oakland has built — and what we continue to build when we insist on investing in our own cultural and economic power,” said Fife.

“For years, our community has fought for meaningful recognition and resources for the Black Arts Movement Business District,” she said. “This announcement validates that work and ensures that BAMBD receives the support it needs to grow, thrive, and continue shaping the cultural fabric of California.”

Since taking office, Fife has led and supported multiple initiatives that strengthened the groundwork for this achievement, including:

Restoring and protecting arts and cultural staffing within the City of Oakland.
Creating the West Oakland Community Fund to reinvest in historically excluded communities
Advancing a Black New Deal study to expand economic opportunity for Black Oakland
Ensuring racial equity impact analyses for development proposals, improving access for Black businesses and Black contractors
Introduced legislation and budget amendments that formalized, protected, and expanded the BAMBD

“These efforts weren’t abstract,” Fife said. “They were intentional, coordinated, and rooted in a belief that Black arts and Black businesses deserve deep, sustained public investment.”

As part of the Cultural District designation, BAMBD will receive:

$10,000 over two years
Dedicated technical assistance
Statewide marketing and branding support
Official designation from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2030

This support will elevate the visibility of BAMBD’s artists, cultural organizations, small businesses, and legacy institutions, while helping attract new investment to the district.

“The BAMBD has always been more than a district,” Fife continued. “This recognition by the State of California gives us another tool in the fight to preserve Black culture, build Black economic power, and protect the families and institutions that make Oakland strong.”

For questions, contact Councilmember Carroll Fife at CFife@oaklandca.gov.