For decades, the city of Oakland has been plagued by illegal dumping, and on Monday, a crew was in East Oakland removing giant piles of trash. But even as it was cleaned up, it stood as a symbol of both the hope and despair of the problem the city faces.
Hawley Street at 75th Avenue used to be a thriving light industrial site.
“My tenants and I used to have lots of business,” said property owner Greg Barron. “There was a bunch of business on 77th. Now most of these properties are sitting vacant. I had a 25-year tenant that left because of this stuff.”…