The city of Sacramento Thursday cleared six homeless tents from Cesar Chavez Plaza ahead of filming for a major movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
City spokesman Tim Swanson said the city posts the “attention to vacate” notices on all tents at the downtown park whenever a permitted event is about to take place, not just the movie.
There are not many other Cesar Chavez Plaza events in the winter, when low temperatures and rain make relocating harder for unhoused individuals.
The city placed bright green stickers on six tents Wednesday during a rainstorm. The storm marked the tail of a major atmospheric river that wreaked havoc on the unhoused community and trapped a 73-year-old in her North Sacramento tent under a felled tree.
The city’s “notice to vacate” flyers gave the homeless 24 hours to pack up and leave the park. All of the occupants were offered spots at the city’s new Roseville Road shelter, and two have so far gone, Swanson said.
Anji Baker said city crews did not offer him and his partner a shelter space when they came to stick the flyer on his cart.