El Lay's Skid Row Has Been Cleaned Up...But Can It Stay Cleaned Up?

We knew Skid Row was pretty gross, but a recent effort to clean up one of El Lay’s most infamous areas revealed just how gross it was.
The Department of Public Works wrapped up a 13-day sweep last Friday, which netted nearly five tons of trash, 81 cubic yards of wastewater, two 5-gallon buckets of feces, three buckets of urine, 278 hypodermic needles, 94 syringes, 60 razor blades, 10 knives, 11 items of drug paraphernalia and a pot stash.
Now that the streets that the citiy’s homeless population call home have been cleaned up, the question remains as to whether or not the city can keep them cleaned up!
Unfortunately, trash and urine has already started accumulating again, but members of a task force are actively developing a maintenance plan.
Pete White, co-director of the Los Angeles Community Action Network, is a longtime critic of El Lay’s attempts to beautify the area. Instead of just sweeping the streets in biohazard suits, he believes resources would be better spent addressing the “root causes” of homelessness.
We don’t disagree with that! However, we don’t mind if the city spends some money to sterilize the stinky area every once in a while.
[Image via AP Images.]