Berkeley streets look like ‘war zones’ of homeless encampments: lawsuit

BERKELEY, Calif. (KRON) — A man on a bicycle shouting through a megaphone, used drug needles, human waste, and aggressive behavior are a few of many allegations detailed in a new lawsuit filed against the City of Berkeley.

“For the past few years, the city has invited, permitted, and/or maintained a sprawling public encampment of tents and RVs,” the lawsuit states.

Attorneys representing local Berkeley business owners claim city officials are failing to maintain public safety surrounding tents and RVs entrenched on: Harrison Street, known as the Harrison Encampment; Codornices Creek between Fourth Street and Eighth Street, known as the Codornices Encampment; Dwight Way, known as the Lower Dwight Encampment.

Two small business owners in the lawsuit, Kathy and Michael Dennison of Bavarian Professionals, have owned properties on Harrison Street for over 40 years. All of their prospective tenants declined to rent the couple’s vacant office spaces because they were “horrified by the horrific mess,” the suit states.

Kathy Dennison described the area as having a “war zone appearance” that deterred
tenants and customers from entering the area.

Emily Winston, owner of Boichik Bagels, said her customers don’t feel safe. Since last year, the Harrison Encampment has grown closer to her bagel shop, and many of her customers are families with children. Unhoused people also steal water and electricity from Boichik Bagels, the lawsuit claims.

“I love this community. This is just not OK for anyone. I have emails from customers (saying) they can’t come here to the business,” Winston told KRON4 Wednesday.

Alex Hunt owns Rio Mobility, a small business on Dwight Way. Every night, a camper rides his bicycle repeatedly past Hunt’s office yelling “gibberish from a megaphone,” attorneys wrote. Another camper’s loose German shepherd attacked Hunt’s cat. Multiple homeless people have tried to break into the business, which manufactures wheelchair equipment, the suit claims.

Business owners said their calls for help were left unanswered, and now they are taking Berkeley to court.

Attorneys said the encampments cause significant loss of income for business owners, public nuisances, as well as health and public safety risks.

A 2023 point-in-time homeless census count found the county had nearly 900 more beds in shelters and supportive housing units than people experiencing homelessness. City officials are not doing enough to force people to leave even after they refuse shelter services, attorneys claim. “Berkeley refuses to act in part because it fears litigation by advocates on behalf of the unsheltered and those living in RVs,” the lawsuit states.

At the Harrison Encampment, “The large accumulation of debris and ad-hoc sheltering structures has completely blocked the sidewalk and extended into the roadway,” the lawsuit writes.

Between January and August 2023, fire officials reported 29 fires stemming from the Harrison Encampment. The city’s Homeless Response Team observed dead animals, used uncapped drug needles, flammable gas containers inside wooden structures, bottles of urine, and trash.

Barry Braden, the owner of Far West Brewing, said homeless people routinely leave their drug needles on his business’ popular outdoor patio. “Unsanitary conditions and safety concerns have greatly impacted Mr. Braden’s business,” attorneys wrote.

A woman recently walked into Far West Brewing asking for free food. When a manager offered help, she left and returned with a 10-foot metal pole that she swung at customers and employees.

Near the Codornices Encampment, employees who work at Covenant Winery said they can hear sexual and physical abuse happening in a wooded area down by the creek. Campers use the creek as a sewer and threaten people who pass by, the lawsuit states.

Attorneys with Gavrilov & Brooks and Tully Bailey law firms are representing the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit demands that an Alameda County judge order the city to “follow the law and remove the encampments.”

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