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Homeless encampment is torn down: Shanty town built under a train station in Oakland which spans several blocks and was home to 30 people is dismantled by authorities who claim it is a safety hazard (24 Pics)

A notorious shanty town of rickety wood panel homes located under a train station in Oakland, California was torn down and cleared Wednes...

A notorious shanty town of rickety wood panel homes located under a train station in Oakland, California was torn down and cleared Wednesday, as the city doubles down on its homelessness crisis.
Now the 30 vagrants who once called the neighborhood of 20 makeshift residences home have to start anew as their shelters were destroyed.
Officials cracked down on the shanty town located under the BART tracks near the Coliseum Station in East Oakland because the homes were built from wooden pallets and some contained propane tanks, posing a dangerous fire hazard.
Not only was the camp, which was built over the past few months and stretches along several blocks of San Leandro Boulevard, a fire and safety hazard itself but it threatened the BART transport system directly above it as well. 
On Wednesday work crews were seen decimating the makeshift homes and tearing off roofs, bringing down walls, and sending locals into the streets with their mattresses and belongings in tow. Backhoe cranes were seen picking up beds, pieces of wood, tarp, and clothing and throwing them into dumpsters. 
In January Oakland has an estimated 4,071 homeless people - a 47 percent hike over the past two years. The number soared from a 2017 report where 2,761 homeless people were counted, as per the San Francisco Chronicle.   
On Wednesday city officials evacuated and tore down a shanty town located under BART train tracks near the Coliseum Station in East Oakland. Two-year resident Jose Colmenero pictured removing personal items from his home before local authorities cleared the homeless encampment on Wednesday September 11, 2019
On Wednesday city officials evacuated and tore down a shanty town located under BART train tracks near the Coliseum Station in East Oakland. Two-year resident Jose Colmenero pictured removing personal items from his home before local authorities cleared the homeless encampment on Wednesday September 11, 2019
18-month homeless resident Cesar Leope pictured removing his belongings from his makeshift homes before the area was destroyed on Wednesday.  'Little by little you have to carry wood. Nails. It's hard to do it,' he said on building his makeshift house that was destroyed
18-month homeless resident Cesar Leope pictured removing his belongings from his makeshift homes before the area was destroyed on Wednesday.  'Little by little you have to carry wood. Nails. It's hard to do it,' he said on building his makeshift house that was destroyed 
A homeless woman stands on active train tracks while removing her personal belongings from her makeshift home under the BART train tracks in Oakland, California on Wednesday
A homeless woman stands on active train tracks while removing her personal belongings from her makeshift home under the BART train tracks in Oakland, California on Wednesday 
Work crews armed with tractors and backhoe cranes removed the homeless encampment structures that have been located under the Oakland tracks for the past few months
Work crews armed with tractors and backhoe cranes removed the homeless encampment structures that have been located under the Oakland tracks for the past few months
A tractor claw pictured destroying a shanty home and carrying up scraps of wood and tarp, leaving debris and dust in its wake
A tractor claw pictured destroying a shanty home and carrying up scraps of wood and tarp, leaving debris and dust in its wake
Residents of this homeless encampment had been there for months and will be allowed to return, just not in fire-prone homes
Residents of this homeless encampment had been there for months and will be allowed to return, just not in fire-prone homes 
The homeless who lived in the makeshift neighborhood were hit with an eviction notice in August and ordered to clear out by September 11. But they'll be allowed to return after the cleaning, just not in fire-prone homes.
Work crews arrived on the scene Wednesday armed with backhoe cranes. 
'You put them inside and it catches on fire. It's a recipe for disaster. You add the BART line on top of it and it makes it that much worse,' Oakland Homeless Services Director Joe DeVries, said on the evacuation. 
'As a governmental agency, we have a duty and obligation to maintain public safety and public health, but at the same time, as a resident, as a citizen, you have certain freedoms and autonomy,' Daryel Dunston, from Oakland’s Department of Human Services, said. 'But when those freedoms and autonomy starts to jeopardize the general public’s safety, the general public’s health, well that’s the need for government to intervene.'  
The homeless camp was thrust into the spotlight when a woman gave birth there earlier this year. City officials helped than woman find shelter for her and her newborn.  
In July some of those wooden structures extended two stories high, reaching the bottom concrete platform of the BART tracks, according to ABC.   
Taking down the neighborhood: The homeless camp under the BART train in East Oakland housed 30 people in 20 structures
Taking down the neighborhood: The homeless camp under the BART train in East Oakland housed 30 people in 20 structures
Dozens of makeshift wooden homes pictured under the BART train tracks before officials demolished them Wednesday
Dozens of makeshift wooden homes pictured under the BART train tracks before officials demolished them Wednesday
A homeless woman named Daisy looks downcast moments before local authorities demand she leave her home under the BART train in East Oakland, California on September 11, 2019
A homeless woman named Daisy looks downcast moments before local authorities demand she leave her home under the BART train in East Oakland, California on September 11, 2019
'I'm okay here. Yeah I've got many years living on the street,' Leppe said on being kicked out of the homeless encampment on Wednesday located under the BART tracks
'I'm okay here. Yeah I've got many years living on the street,' Leppe said on being kicked out of the homeless encampment on Wednesday located under the BART tracks
The evacuation notice for cleaning pictured above. The vagrants who lived here will be allowed to return, but not with wooden homes
The evacuation notice for cleaning pictured above. The vagrants who lived here will be allowed to return, but not with wooden homes 
In Wednesday's eviction, Oakland officials didn't offer shelter beds to the evacuated residents, saying that they can return to the location.
Departing has proved difficult for the vagrants who now must find a new place to settle down as they wait for the BART station location to re-open. 
'Little by little you have to carry wood. Nails. It's hard to do it,' Cesar Leppe, who was evicted from that shanty town, said to KTVU on building his now dismantled home.  
But many of the homeless who lived in that encampment say they don’t want to move to a shelter.
'I'm okay here. Yeah I've got many years living on the street,' Leppe added. 
Two-year resident Jose Colmenero pictured removing items from his makeshift kitchen in East Oakland on Wednesday
Two-year resident Jose Colmenero pictured removing items from his makeshift kitchen in East Oakland on Wednesday
After clearing out: After he cleared out his makeshift wooden home, Colmenero stood outside the camp over his stash of personal items, unsure of where to go next
After clearing out: After he cleared out his makeshift wooden home, Colmenero stood outside the camp over his stash of personal items, unsure of where to go next 
The inside of one of dozens of structures that make up a part of a homeless encampment located underneath BART train tracks in Oakland California pictured above revealing a mess of furniture, clothes, and a stereo system
The inside of one of dozens of structures that make up a part of a homeless encampment located underneath BART train tracks in Oakland California pictured above revealing a mess of furniture, clothes, and a stereo system
The wooden home, topped off with a tarp roof, was demolished on Wednesday as work crews evacuated the area
The wooden home, topped off with a tarp roof, was demolished on Wednesday as work crews evacuated the area
'You put them inside and it catches on fire. It's a recipe for disaster. You add the BART line on top of it and it makes it that much worse,' Oakland Homeless Services Director Joe DeVries, said on the evacuation
'You put them inside and it catches on fire. It's a recipe for disaster. You add the BART line on top of it and it makes it that much worse,' Oakland Homeless Services Director Joe DeVries, said on the evacuation
A homeless woman removes personal belongings from her home as work crews start to demolish the vagrant camp under the Bart trains in East Oakland, California on Wednesday
A homeless woman removes personal belongings from her home as work crews start to demolish the vagrant camp under the Bart trains in East Oakland, California on Wednesday 
Apollo, a caged kitten, meows from inside a makeshift structure as tractors approach to remove a homeless encampment in Oakland California on September 11, 2019
Apollo, a caged kitten, meows from inside a makeshift structure as tractors approach to remove a homeless encampment in Oakland California on September 11, 2019
In July some of those wooden structures in this homeless camp extended two stories high, reaching the bottom concrete platform of the BART tracks and sparking massive fire and safety concerns
In July some of those wooden structures in this homeless camp extended two stories high, reaching the bottom concrete platform of the BART tracks and sparking massive fire and safety concerns
Oakland officials can't force the homeless people from this camp to accept social services. 
But a non-profit called the East Oakland Collective is raising money to buy new tents for the evacuated homeless so they can live in the same location without the fire hazard. 
The nonprofit is lobbying for the city to sanction off a safe piece of land for the homeless to occupy. 
'Move them to a safer sanctioned piece of land rather than tear down the homes, Candice Elder, director of the East Oakland Collective, said. 
But locals say that giving out tents would defeat the purpose. 
'If it is tents we are going to put them in, we will still have to deal with the garbage. And that's not going to make me happy,' local man Bob Giovannoni, who works at Monterey Mechanical nearby the encampment, said. 
'I've been here 40 years, this is the worst I've seen it,' he added. 
Walls were peeled apart and brought to the ground, offering a look inside the homeless structures set up in this East Oakland homeless camp
Walls were peeled apart and brought to the ground, offering a look inside the homeless structures set up in this East Oakland homeless camp
Workers pictured dismantling the homeless camp on Wednesday after officials deemed the camp was a fire hazard
Workers pictured dismantling the homeless camp on Wednesday after officials deemed the camp was a fire hazard
Another homeless encampment near a Home Depot pictured above in Oakland, California on Tuesday
Another homeless encampment near a Home Depot pictured above in Oakland, California on Tuesday 
A resident tends to his belongings at a homeless encampment near a Home Depot in Oakland, California on Tuesday
A resident tends to his belongings at a homeless encampment near a Home Depot in Oakland, California on Tuesday
This  sign is posted on a notoriously massive homeless encampment in a Home Depot parking lot nearby that says 'No Dumping. Give Us Housing. This Isn't a Dump'
This  sign is posted on a notoriously massive homeless encampment in a Home Depot parking lot nearby that says 'No Dumping. Give Us Housing. This Isn't a Dump'
At the moment the encampment under the BART station is not closed down, rather it's under renovation as they clear out the shanty structures. 
Homeless people and advocates were outraged with Wednesday's eviction and clearing. 
'We are literally wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars pushing people from one sidewalk to another sidewalk,' Talya Husbands-Hankin, a member of Oakland’s homeless advocacy working group, said to the San Francisco Chronicle.  
'It is unnecessary for people to be crammed under overpasses surrounded by rats in these extremely unsafe and degrading environments. We could be providing nicer tents for people, showers, toilets, all of these things as an emergency measure. I’m not saying that is a solution, but because the problem is so huge, we need to be more creative and more expansive,' she added. 
Officials believe the number of homeless people in Oakland has spiked over the past two years due hikes in rent, an extreme housing shortage and job loss.
Furthermore the city's efforts to combat homelessness, may have invited more vagrants as they've created five community cabin shelters and opened a safe RV parking site in June.

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