Oakland business’s camera records truck dumping unknown substance on street
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Oakland business’s camera records truck dumping unknown substance on street
Security cameras caught a truck dumping thousands of gallons of sludge all over Pearmain Street just before 2:00 a.m. “This street is a dumping ground for the city of Oakland,” local business owner John Lewis said. Councilmember Ken Houston: “We have to bring back law and order and a person who does something like this should be prosecuted” If the person responsible is caught and convicted, they could face some hefty fines, plus the cost of clean-up and possibly even jail time. “The best part of having a business in Oakland is that they leave you alone,” Lewis laughed.
“This street is a dumping ground for the city of Oakland,” local business owner John Lewis said. “Of course, the city of Oakland will do nothing with this. They won’t address the problem.”
It was John Lewis’ security cameras that caught a truck dumping thousands of gallons of sludge all over Pearmain Street just before 2:00 a.m.
He has had a high-end architectural glass business in the city for more than 50 years. He said he’s fed up with all the trash and dumping on his street, but this was a new low.
“I don’t know whether it’s toxic, I don’t know if it’s benign. I have no idea what it is,” Lewis said.
He called the council member who represents the district, Ken Houston.
“I’ve been out here with my business since 1991. And it’s just gotten continually worse,” Lewis said to Houston.
“I’ve been in office 151 days. This is spill-over from that old administration. We’ve got new administration, and we’re not going to tolerate this nonsense,” responded Houston.
Councilmember Houston said in addition to aggressive prosecution, there also needs to be more cleanup.
“You’ve got graffiti, vandalism. Ah, let me go on and dump it here. Nobody cares. That’s the mindset,” Houston said.
He used to work as a contractor and said he believes he knows exactly what happened on Pearmain.
“Somebody did a job, like a slurry job, concrete job, cement job. And they washed it up and they said let me just dump it on the street instead of disposing of it properly. This is a crime against this community. If you lived there with your new baby, how would you feel? If you were a business owner, how would you feel? We have to bring back law and order and a person who does something like this should be prosecuted,” Houston said.
Lewis said he supports Houston’s plan, but also questions whether anything will change because of the city’s lack of response for years. He does joke there are some advantages to that.
“The best part of having a business in Oakland is that they leave you alone,” Lewis laughed.
If the person responsible is caught and convicted, they could face some hefty fines, plus the cost of clean-up and possibly even jail time.