The 7-Elevens of L.A. use classical music to chase the homeless

The roar of traffic in Camarillo Street, north of Hollywood, does not cover the slender ropes of Pachelbel's Cannon in C.

Classical music continues all day and all night. It does not come from a stranger sitting in the street with a violin, but from several speakers attached below a bright 7-Eleven sign.

"They use it as a deterrent to hang out," said cashier Lydia Erdman, who works at the night shift. The homeless "continue to show themselves, but our customers like it better now. We had enough pain. It was a problem for a moment. "

A regular customer replied, "She is terrified every night."

In Los Angeles, where it's hard to go far without seeing an orange, red and green 7-Eleven sign you look, owners of several convenience store franchises have started installing speakers to read the same list of reading to ward off the crazy panhandlers, many of whom say owners and managers
are homeless.

No one at 7-Eleven's headquarters in Dallas responded to repeated requests for comment.

But the company told Modesto Bee last year that they "tested a variety of programs in our stores" and "have received very positive feedback from our customers about the atmosphere created by the music devices piloted in several stores 7-Eleven ".

The company launched the program several years ago, starting with stores that "had immediate needs," said Kathy York, president of Franchise Owners Assn. from Greater Los Angeles. Depending on the franchise agreement of each store, the company branch of 7-Eleven bears the costs associated with construction and maintenance. But some desperate franchise owners have started paying for the speakers and the music themselves.

The Times spoke to
more than half a dozen owners and managers of the 120 or so franchised stores in the city of Los Angeles. Most explained how the increase in the number of homeless people outside their stores had hurt business. Most refused to be named because they feared that speaking to the media could compromise their franchise agreements.

A franchise owner who
The music resounded on his 7-Eleven, claiming that the optional program was so popular that "the company is regularly out of stock" equipment.

"It's not like you can connect an iPhone to the system," added this franchise owner. "The music is pre-installed."

Another homeowner has calculated that he loses $ 45 a day because of shoplifting – and suspects that homeless people coming and going in his store are responsible. He also said he had already owned five 7-Eleven franchises and tested the music in that country, believing that he might have chased about 10% of those who are strolling outside.

"I have been dealing with this for more than 20 years," he said. "I do not even know what to do about it."

In another store in Hollywood, the owner of the franchise said he had not yet installed the music. For now, it has been helpful to call in a private security guard at night and wash the sidewalk several times a week.

"With security, they try," said this owner. "They can not do much."

This use of music to empty public spaces is nothing new. Last year, 7-Eleven franchises in Modesto, Chico and Jacksonville, Florida, made headlines last year for using loudspeakers to stop people from parking. More recently, the hymn of toddlers has been scandalized by the city of West Palm Beach "Shark baby"To deter homeless people living in a park.

Just like the planters and other barriers installed on sidewalks and streets, the 7-Eleven Playlist broadcast throughout Southland is another manifestation of the frustration of business owners and residents with regard to homelessness in Los Angeles and the inability of the city and county to slow the growth of it.

Sometimes this frustration has taken malicious forms.

Earlier this year, in San Francisco, a man threw water through a window on a homeless woman – which caused outrage when it was filmed, but it did not go unnoticed. is an act of hate that advocates of hate regularly tell many uninhabited people.

More recently, homeless camps in the skid and Eagle Rock ranges have been the target of arson. This latest incident sparked a brush fire and led to the evacuation of several homes in Eagle Rock and Glendale. This also led to the arrest of two men in their 20s, although they were not charged.

Even though it is
not violent, advocates say that music in 7-Eleven stores conveys a message that they are unwelcoming to the homeless. It also does not solve street problems and can potentially exacerbate existing tensions between hosted and uninhabited communities.

"Basically, it's about who has the right to public space, which is desirable and undesirable," said Eric Tars, legal director of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. "This kind of less desirable population alteration shows that it is acceptable to treat it less than you would like to be treated."

Peter Haderlein, a client who lived until recently near the 7-Eleven in North Hollywood – who plays music – agreed.

"They are people. They are not pigeons, "he said. "It's the auditory equivalent of putting spikes on a bench, and it really bothered me."

Haderlein said that it was his interaction with a homeless man who called Majesty and held the door of the customers daily at 7-Eleven who partially inspired him to start volunteering to help homeless people. Finally, he also joined the North Hollywood Neighborhood Council.

Majesty, for one, says that he picks up a few dollars each night holding the door. He says that music does not discourage him, but he says others have stopped so much in stores.

Another homeless man, Damien Chase, said that he had been on the street for 25 years and, recently, that he was standing under a cotton candy-colored sky pulling cans of one's own. 7-Eleven dumpster for recycling, said the volume of music was hurting his ears. But he said he also understands why the store, which installed the speakers four or five months ago, uses the playlist.

"I'm sensitive to shop owners because seven or eight guys are standing in front of the store," he said. "People are afraid to go to the store. I do not blame them. "

Not far away, on Santa Monica Boulevard, in West Hollywood, a shirtless man was sitting on the sidewalk muttering to himself as a steady stream of customers came in and out of the 7-Eleven. Most did not seem baffled by a catchy piece played by the English Chamber Orchestra.

Beside, Delìa Acuna was cleaning up after the rush of lunch in Los Tacos, which has been there and with her family for 43 years. She said the 7-Eleven's music had started about two months ago and before that, customers regularly complained about seemingly homeless people hanging out.

"Now it's less than before, because of music, I think," she said.

She has only one small complaint:
"I wish they played Jennifer Lopez."