Peter Radu

After months of litigation over the city of Berkeley’s efforts to clear the Eighth and Harrison streets encampment, city workers officially began the largest abatement effort at the camp in over a year.

Residents of the unhoused encampment on Eight and Harrison streets have filed a lawsuit against the city of Berkeley for throwing away their possessions following a sweep last year.

The Berkeley City Council approved a contract Tuesday with the Housing Consortium of the East Bay, or HCEB, as a contingency plan for interim housing at the Rodeway Inn. 

Encampment residents at Harrison and Eighth Street were granted a temporary restraining order against the city of Berkeley on Sept. 5, momentarily preventing the city from clearing the encampment. 

Loss of income and unsustainable housing costs are leaving many California residents on the streets, according to the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness.

The city filed a notice of violation against Berkeley’s ‘so-called’ chess club — an arrangement of tables and chairs that meets daily at the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street.

With the drop in temperatures and increase in rainfall, the City of Berkeley and local organizations have been working to provide aid for the houseless population during this turbulent weather. 

Berkeley city officials cleared away the long-standing “Here There” encampment on Adeline street on Tuesday, putting a halt to the camp’s nearly seven year-long protest on the green space. 

People’s Park has been a point of controversy within the Berkeley community as campus seeks to build housing on the park, while activists work to preserve it. But currently, the park is “chaos,” according to Nicholas Alexander, a resource coordinator who helps run the kitchen in the park.