It’s 8 a.m. in MacArthur Park.
A local shopkeeper hoses down his front stoop, washing away the layer of debris that accumulated overnight.
As water strikes the already hot asphalt, steam rises and mingles with clouds of smoke coming from a group of people slumped on Alvarado Street. A mother shuttles her two young children past the huddle, weaving through dozens of vendors to reach the playground.
This majority Latino working-class community has adapted to life around one of the largest fentanyl markets in Los Angeles, but not without paying a price.
“The worst thing about MacArthur Park is the fentanyl epidemic,” said Rafael, a street vendor who sells kitchenware and did not want his last name to be shared for fear of retribution from dealers. “I’ve seen people die in the park. I’ve seen people sacrifice everything for a little euphoria.”
Local businesses battle a spike in shoplifting fueled in part by people seeking to make money to buy the drug. Residents in the densely populated neighborhood of Westlake are reluctant to use the largest public park near them. People frequently overdose and die there.
“I used to go down the street to go buy a cup of coffee in the mornings, but now I don’t do that because I need to cross an alleyway and there is too much trash and it is full of people doing drugs,” Sylvia said in Spanish, who did not want her last name shared due to safety concerns.
Her family has run a vitamin and medicine stand inside a swap meet on Alvarado Street for more than 25 years. “Even the common people, Latinos that live in this area, are scared because they have been hurt. There are a lot of crazy people out here,” Sylvia said.
Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, said she receives frequent shoplifting complaints from retailers near the park.
“One of the problems we continue to see in MacArthur Park is that people are going into stores, they steal items, they go out, they…
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