Chinatown clean-up underway ahead of Salinas Asian Festival

Thursday morning was busy for crews as they got to work on a clean-up job over at the homeless camp in the Chinatown area of Salinas.

At least a dozen contractors hit the ground running removing trash, hazardous materials and other waste from the streets.

It began with a 48-hour notice to those camped in the area. Some of whom were well aware this was coming, others still not pleased that the city was relocating the homeless to do the job.

“It’s very stressful,” says homeless community member, Anissa. “Especially when you have to stay up all night packing.”

The city says it offers storage bins for the homeless to store personal belongings during the clean-up.

Contractors assigned to do the cleaning were urged to wear protective clothing, gloves and handed shovels to pick up the trash with.

If needles or syringes are found on-site, some contractors will be able to handle them and dispose of them in a safe manner.

Tractors were also seen loading up trash into dump trucks early Thursday morning as crews continued to work around the dozens of homeless people packing up their items.

“If it was up to me I wouldn’t have it cleaned,” says Anissa. “I don’t like it, but it needs to be done.”

Some of the homeless relocated to nearby parks while others moved down the street waiting for the work to be completed.

City officials with the Salinas Public Works Department say these sweeps happen often and throughout the city.

This one in particular was aimed at cleaning up the area ahead of the Salinas Asian Festival.