Residents near Lake Hollywood Park say they are fed up over claims that fruit vendors operating beneath the Hollywood Sign have been relieving themselves in nearby bushes before returning to prepare and sell food.
Exclusive images obtained by The California Post appear to show unpermitted vendors using vegetation around the popular tourist spot as a makeshift restroom, then going back to cut and serve fruit to customers.
The photos were shared by angry neighbors who say they have documented the issue for years, accusing vendors of urinating and defecating in the park, dumping wastewater into the street and leaving trash behind as city officials struggle to rein in the growing operation.
“It’s disgusting,” longtime resident Cindy Cobb told The Post.
“They go to the bathroom in the bushes … then they come back. Mind you, there’s no hand washing because there’s no bathroom. They’re urinating and defecating in a park space, and then they come back and cut fruit.”
The complaints have raised fresh food-safety concerns, as public health officials warn that produce can be contaminated when handled by someone who has not properly washed their hands after using the restroom.
One potential risk is Cyclospora, a parasite that causes the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis and is spread when food or water becomes contaminated with human feces. Health agencies have repeatedly linked Cyclospora outbreaks to fresh produce.
The CDC recommends washing fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly under clean running water before eating them, while cautioning that chemical disinfectants may not fully remove or kill the parasite.
Lake Hollywood Park, the roughly two-acre park beneath the world-famous Hollywood Sign, attracts thousands of visitors each week.
Neighbors say not having bathrooms has created an ongoing sanitation problem.
They claim vendors routinely disappear into nearby bushes to relieve themselves, then return minutes later to prepare ready-to-eat fruit for tourists.
Residents say they have repeatedly reported the issue to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, park rangers, the Bureau of Street Services, Mayor Karen Bass’ office and Councilmember Nithya Raman’s office.
When The California Post reviewed one of those complaints, there was a response from the county’s Department of Public Health stating: “Your complaint has been received and assigned to our Environmental Health Mobile Food Program. Due to the large volume of unpermitted sidewalk vending complaints, your complaint has been placed in the queue and will be addressed as soon as possible.”
“What we’re against is the city not enforcing its own ordinances,” Cobb said. “This is a public health issue.”
She said officials had opportunities to stop the problem before it escalated.
“The city had a chance to stop this years ago,” Cobb said. “Instead, it just kept growing.”
Residents also say vendors are dumping dirty wastewater into storm drains and streets, leaving behind fruit containers and plastic utensils, and creating fire hazards by cooking inside a designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone beneath the Hollywood Hills.
Scott Meyers, who is running for running for election to the US House to represent California’s 30th Congressional District, and lives not too far from the park, told The Post, “Thousands of unsuspecting customers, seeking refreshment in the dead of summer, order fruit, cut by the hands of food vendors, unregulated and free from any County Health inspection, who have just relieved themselves in the bushes in the perimeter of the park.
Mayoral candidate Nithya Raman, the ‘urban planner’ is fully aware of this and shrugs.”
Cobb also told The Post she believes many of the fruit carts are part of a larger operation rather than individual vendors.
She said trucks regularly drop off multiple carts each morning and return to collect them at night. She says she suspects some workers may be exploited.
“I think a lot of these people are trafficked to do the jobs. It’s not right.”
The Post has reached out to the LA County Department of Public Health, Bass’ and Raman’s offices for comment.
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