City Government

City, Oakland Homeless Seek Immediate Solutions to House the Displaced

Published

9 years ago

February 10, 2017

In the angry aftermath of the city’s eviction of a homeless encampment in North Oakland, Councilmember Noel Gallo and Joe DeVries, assistant to the City Administrator, met Wednesday afternoon with a group of homeless and homeless advocates to work on immediate solutions to the crisis that is throwing more and more people out onto the streets.

Known as “The Village” or “The Promised Land,” the small camp had taken over a section of Grove Shafter Park and Martin Luther King Jr. Way on Jan. 21. The camp was torn down last Thursday morning by a contingent of Oakland Police and the city’s Department of Public Works.

There had been five structures at the small camp, built with pallets and plywood and two-by-fours. Sixteen people lived there in tents. The camp also offered services to hundreds of people a week.

Speaking at the Wednesday City Hall meeting, organizer Needa Bee read a prepared statement, blaming DeVries for the destruction of The Promised Land.

“On Monday, Jan. 23, you came to The Promised Land and told volunteers you admired what we were doing,” she said.

“But a few days later, you returned to The Promised Land to supervise the posting of eviction notices. And two days later, you supervised the violent and inhumane demolition of our homes and free, much needed services we offered the community.”

An estimated 2,000 to 4,000 homeless people are living in Oakland, and the numbers are growing rapidly.

DeVries said the city had received dozens of complaints from nearby residents and a 30-day correction letter from Caltrans saying the city was in violation of its lease on the property. Several city departments had also complained about the unapproved encampment.

One of the major issues for Caltrans and the city is liability.

The city has established a staff task force that meets every Friday to come up with recommendations. The task force includes the City Administrator’s Office, Oakland Police Department, Public Works and the Human Services Department.

“We, the city, cannot solve homelessness. We are not the solution. That’s where the community comes in,” said Lara Tannenbaum of the city’s Human Services Department.

She said that not much city land is likely to be available, but the city can find private property and buildings that it can lease.

DeVries and Tannenbaum said immediate winter shelter space is available at 675 San Pablo (at 23rd Street). Shelters are not a solution but can help some people find a warm cot, they said.

Participants in the meeting called on the city to open certain city parks and other vacant land for authorized homeless encampments. They asked the city to take a hands-off approach, allowing the homeless to organize themselves.

They say they want spaces that include sanitary services, wash stations and drinkable water.

Councilmember Gallo told the Post that the city is facing an emergency and must act.

“This the reality: the homeless population is going to continue to grow,” he said.

“We have to hear from the homeless and start to craft ordinances and recommendations of what to do, besides just talking about the emergency.”

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Related Topics:Affordable housing displacement homeless housing Joe DeVries Needa Bee noel gallo Oakland Promised Land The Village

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

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

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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

4 weeks 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.