(December 13, 2019, 3:45 a.m.) -- Oakland City Councilwoman (and City Council President) Rebecca Kaplan has floated the concept of providing temporary housing for that city's homeless population on a cruise ship docked in that city's Port. "Maybe we can have a way to create a thousand housing units overnight," Councilwoman Kaplan said (quoted in San Francisco Chronicle coverage at this link.)
"It could be a great way to house a lot of people quickly," Councilwoman Kaplan said, noting that "cruise ships have been used for emergency housing after natural disasters and for extra housing for things like Olympics." (The Chronicle noted that cruise ships provided emergency housing for about 8,000 people during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and President Trump has said cruise ships could be used for victims of Hurricane Dorian.) Oakland Councilwoman Kaplan likened her concept to the Queen Mary docked in Long Beach. "It could be like that...but as affordable housing instead of hotel" she said. Oakland Port officialdom moved swiftly to try to sink the idea, offering reasons why it wouldn't be feasible in that city's Port, including incompatible industrial operations, lack of supportive infrastructure and utilities, safety and security. But arguably unlike Oakland, Long Beach has already invited major non-industrial uses -- including the Queen Mary, plus the Carnival Cruise Ship terminal (approving even larger capacity ships) and plans for an envisioned major tourist venue -- all basically adjacent to its operating Port. And there's history. Roughly twenty years ago, Long Beach City and Port officialdom supported demolishing millions of dollars in taxpayer-built housing units (with adjacent amenities and infrastructure) at the former LB Naval Station, which co-existed for years alongside LB's operating Port. Destroying the taxpayer-built housing and amenities gave the Port what the late video journalist Huell Howser derisively called a "container yard." [Scroll down for further.] |
If the concept of shipboard homeless housing were floated in LB, one might expect opposition from LB's Port officialdom and from various maritime, cargo and corporate interests (similar to those that supported demolishing the Naval Station housing and more recently opposed modifying LB's federal breakwater that offered the opportunity to restore some wave activity to LB.) There might be a number of reasons not to pursue the concept in LB...but on its merits, pro and con, what about LB? LBREPORT.com is interested in your views on the concept. Let us know via Facebook or our Disqus system and let us know in what part of LB you live.
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