City Government

Raimondi Park Homeless Asked to Temporarily Vacate

Published

7 years ago

April 30, 2019

Edgar David-Ayala plays with his dog Cope at Raimondi Park in West Oakland. He and other homeless people camped there are being asked to vacate the park temporarily on May 1, and have not been provided a space to store their belongings. Photo by Zack Haber

Oakland’s Public Works Department (PWD) placed a notice on a privately owned portable toilet near Raimondi Park on April 26, instructing homeless residents camped there to temporarily vacate the park on May 1.

The notice states that “public works crews will temporarily close the encampment…to clean the site thoroughly,” and indicates that the clean-up could happen on May 2 instead.

The notice was placed away from the main encampment, on a portable toilet that Raimondi Park residents don’t have access to. As of April 29, most living inside the encampment did not know that the city planned to have them temporarily vacate two days later.

Photo by Zack Haber

“Wow, I didn’t know they said they were coming on Wednesday,” said Edgar David-Ayala, who lives in the park and has been an Oakland resident for over 30 years. David-Ayala claims to have seen these notices twice before in recent months, but both times the city didn’t force any residents to vacate. “I think they’re just trying to scare us,” he said.

One resident who lives in a vehicle near the park and asked not to be named was sympathetic to the city’s desire to clean up the park. She said her own children can’t play there because of all the trash. She wishes folks staying at the park would have less stuff and clean up more.

“It’s a park for children to play in but they can’t because it’s not safe,” she said.

But encampment residents say that staying clean is difficult without regular trash pickup. While the PWD regularly does trash collection from the nearby homeless encampment on Wood Street, it doesn’t offer those services to Raimondi Park. While the city has provided portable toilets to Wood Street’s encampment, they haven’t for Raimondi Park.

Most people staying in Raimondi Park say they don’t know what to expect on May 1, and aren’t sure how to prepare.

The notice offers no way for Raimondi Park residents to contact city representatives. It lists two numbers that residents could call if they have questions or concerns: Operation Dignity and 2-1-1. While both organizations offer homeless services, neither puts them in touch with public works to clarify what’s needed of them.

“I don’t know if they want us to move completely or to just to clean up a little bit and leave for the day,” said Guiseppe Turri, who has camped in the park for about six months.

Dayton Andrews, a housed Oakland resident who organizes politically with homeless residents through the United Front Against Displacement, says the Raimondi Park residents are being asked to leave without any place to go.

“People are being asked to fulfill orders that put them in a more vulnerable position,” he said. The notice asks residents to remove their personal belongings, but they worry about losing property as they don’t have anywhere to store it, and abandoning it could mean that it gets stolen.

Jonas Armenta, who started living in Raimondi Park after his RV caught fire, plans to carry all his belongings with him and roam around the city until he can return if he is asked to vacate.

“I’ve got nowhere else I can go,” he said.

Zack Haber

Posts by Zack Haber

Related Topics:homeless encampment homeless services.homelessness housing crisis Oakland Oakland. housing Raimondi Park

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Bay Area

IN MEMORIAM: Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73

Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73 Caption: Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo. Special to The Post Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love i

Published

11 hours ago

June 17, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love in the comfort of her home. To her children, she was royalty, grace, strength, and unconditional love embodied.

Debra Diane Edgar was born on May 28, 1952, in San Francisco, California, to Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar. She was raised alongside her younger brother, Charles Edgar Jr., affectionately known as “Little Brother” or “Lil Bruh.” She also shared close bonds with her older siblings Carol Edgar-Lang, Maryann Edgar Calloway, and Lonnie Lewis Sr.

A proud product of San Francisco’s historic Fillmore District, Debra attended Andrew Jackson Elementary School, where she met her lifelong best friend and adopted sister, Lynn Green, in the fifth grade. She later attended Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High School and Thomas Jefferson High School.

Debra’s mother transitioned when she was only 17 years old, and her father transitioned when she was 23. Despite these profound losses, Debra remained grounded through the love and support of extended family and lifelong family friends,

In 1971, she married Harold King. On Sept. 24, 1972, they welcomed their first son, Dajuan Artese King, affectionately called “Pop” or “Poppa.” On Aug. 5, 1976, they welcomed their second son, Dante Dupree King, affectionately called “Tay” or “Taboocoo the Baby.”

After her divorce in 1982, Debra assumed full responsibility for raising her sons.

She supported Dajuan’s passion for football by purchasing sports equipment and attending games faithfully. She supported Dante’s love of music by enrolling him in the San Francisco Boys Choir, Oakland Boys Choir, and the Castlemont Castleers.

Professionally, Debra built an exceptional career. She worked at Blue Shield of California from 1973 until 1994, earning multiple promotions.

She later joined the Oakland Unified School District, initially in a temporary role before being promoted into management within the Labor Relations Department. She retired from OUSD in 2015 after years of distinguished service. During her years at OUSD, she built meaningful friendships with her colleagues.

Faith was central to Debra’s life. During the 1980s, following personal hardship, she joined Love Center Church under the leadership of Bishop Walter Hawkins, where she brought her children regularly. She later became a member of Triumphant: A Church Without Walls Ministries under Pastor Dr. Larry Short, who became a beloved spiritual mentor.

After Triumphant closed in 1992, Debra joined Cosmopolitan Baptist Church in Oakland under the leadership of Pastor Larry Ashley, where she remained for the rest of her life.

At Cosmopolitan, she worked in numerous ministries. She served on the usher board, sang in the choir, participated in the AIDS ministry during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, helped feed and support unhoused community members, and mentored and supported a group of young girls.

After retirement, she cared for older adults in her church community, driving them to appointments, cleaning their homes, managing finances, preparing meals, and helping families navigate funeral arrangements after loved ones transitioned.

Even while battling Stage 4 cancer herself, she continued caring for others.

Debra was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar; her brothers, Lonnie Lewis Sr. and Charles Edgar Jr.; her sisters, Maryann Edgar Calloway and Victoria Stephenson Knight; and her adopted mother, Clara Oliver.

She leaves to cherish her memory her beloved sons, Dajuan King and Dante King; grandson, Tiyler Dajuan Artese King; sister, Carol Edgar-Lang; goddaughters Monique Belle and Ricketa Matthews Jones (Leonard); daughter-in-love Quiona Sullivan; son-in-love Marcel Walker; sister-in-law Delores Lewis; adopted sisters and lifelong friends Lynn Green, Barbara Stephenson Hill, and Sarah Fine; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, great-nieces, great-nephews, extended family members, her church family and dear friends.