Police Cite Homeless After Santa Ana Removes Artists Village Benches

Second Street Promenade is the centerpiece of Santa Ana’s Artists Village–and now another front on the city’s war against the homeless. The cobblestone courtyard welcomes people to restaurants like the Den Cafe and Lola Gaspar as well as Grand Central Art Center. It’s also a place where the city’s homeless have rested on benches watching the day go by or have washed up with the water trickling down from the promenade’s central fountain.

That is, until all the benches in the promenade got removed a few weeks ago, leaving people with nowhere to sit. The city insists that the decision to take out the benches wasn’t done to deter the homeless from the area.

Read more on my latest OC Weekly Navel Gazing Blog post:

https://ocweekly.com/police-cite-homeless-after-santa-ana-removes-artists-village-benches/