For 20 years, Gregg Donovan, aka. the “Hollywood Ambassador,” has been greeting tourists in front of the famous theaters, museums and shops on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame – one of L.A.’s most popular landmarks. Lately, however, he says business has slowed because people are fearful for their safety.
“It’s gone from bad to worse,” Donovan told KTLA. “I hear tourists say, ‘It’s not the Walk of Fame, it’s the Walk of Shame.’ It’s gotten that bad.”
Over the past two weeks, Hollywood Boulevard and the surrounding area has seen three shootings.
Early Sunday morning, two people were wounded when shots rang out in front of the 7-Eleven at Hollywood Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue. The previous night, gunfire erupted inside the Next Door Lounge on Highland and Lexington avenues, sending one person to the hospital.
On April 14, a man was shot in the head in front of tourists at Hollywood and Highland in what witnesses say stemmed from a game of “Three-card Monte,” an illegal street hustle.
People who live and work in the area believe there are simply not enough cops to keep the peace.
“I see gambling. I see shooting, fighting, stealing from CVS and Target … all over Hollywood Boulevard. It was never like this 30 years ago,” said one local resident.
“There are no police out here. Last year, I was attacked four times and had to call the police twice,” said Donovan, who runs tours of Hollywood.
He says his business is suffering.
“We would be full by 10 a.m., now it’s sometimes we are empty because people are afraid,” he told us.
Business owners, employees and those who live near the Walk of Fame are asking for increased police patrols.
In her State of the City address last week, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she hopes to hire 400 more police officers, but there is no indication where those officers would be deployed.