A recent cleanup of LA’s horrific MacArthur Park — complete with cameras, city hall bigwigs and an Instagram victory lap — is already looking like a social media publicity stunt just one week after completion.
Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez posted a video on Instagram touting what she described as a major cleanup effort at the troubled park Sunday March 1. The clip shows Hernandez, as well as Mayor Karen Bass and a lineup of what the councilwoman called the city’s “city family,” as officials celebrated the effort to spruce up the long-troubled space.
The event, dubbed the “My Community Cleanup”, was promoted by Hernandez as a show of neighborhood pride and city investment in the area.
“I’m proud to represent MacArthur Park because I love MacArthur Park,” Hernandez wrote in the post. “As we saw at last week’s My Community Cleanup, so many neighbors love it too.”
But when The Post returned to MacArthur Park a week later to see how long the progress lasted, the reality on the ground told a very different story.
Trash was scattered across the park again. Encampment debris had crept back in. Drug waste littered the ground.
The scene looked far less like the freshly cleaned public space showcased online — and far more like the same filthy, chaotic landscape residents say has turned the park into a “zombie apocalypse.”
Critics say the cleanup push looks more like election-season optics than lasting change.
“Sadly, for MacArthur Park, election season comes every four years — which is exactly when you will see Eunisses Hernandez attempt to do her job,” said Raul Claro, who is running against Hernandez for the council seat.
The Post reached out to Hernandez’s office and the mayor’s office asking how much debris was removed during the cleanup and how much the effort cost taxpayers, but did not receive a response.
The cleanup push is not new. In addition to the March 1 event, the park is supposed to receive regular Friday cleanups that include deep cleaning of the grounds.
Still, the quick return to disorder raises questions about whether the highly publicized cleanup made any lasting difference.
In her Instagram post, Hernandez defended the effort and highlighted the city’s investment in the area.
“I’m proud to represent MacArthur Park because I love MacArthur Park,” Hernandez wrote. “And as we saw at last week’s Love My Community Cleanup, so many neighbors love it too.”
MacArthur Park sits squarely in Hernandez’s district, and its worsening conditions have become a flashpoint in the city’s homelessness debate.
City Hall and Hernandez’s office say more than $27 million has been directed to the park and surrounding area for homelessness initiatives, including outreach programs, services and on-site programming.
“We don’t ignore the real challenges here. We lean in,” Hernandez said. “That’s why our office has secured and invested over $27 million in the area to address public health and safety and bring the resources this community deserves.”
According to city records, the money has funded homelessness outreach including pipe and needle distribution services and ongoing cleanup efforts in the neighborhood.
But critics say the spending has not translated into visible improvements. “Sadly, for MacArthur Park election season comes every four years, which is exactly when you will see Eunisses Hernandez attempt to do her job,” said Raul Claro, who is challenging Hernandez for the council seat.
Los Angeles overall spent $417.8 million last year on homelessness programs, many focused on services rather than permanent housing solutions.
A review of city spending shows about $3 million went to hygiene stations, mobile showers and laundry services, part of a broader strategy critics say manages homelessness rather than reducing it.
Meanwhile, the city’s CARE+ sanitation program, which includes cleanups like those seen at MacArthur Park, carries an annual cost often estimated at more than $60 million, though roughly $36 million is tied directly to program operations.
The city budget allocated $56 million for CARE+ in 2024–25, dropping to about $35 million in the 2025–26 fiscal year.