Drain Dweller Is Evicted by City Officials

A man who lived in a storm drain was ousted by city workers and police and his belongings hauled to the city dump, officials said Wednesday.

About two small truckloads of the 54-year-old man’s belongings, including tattered clothing and folding chairs, were taken from a storm drain in the 4th Avenue and B Street area, said Zeke Gonzales, city streets supervisor.

“It looked like . . . he was in there for a few months,” Gonzales said. “He found a nice place and that is where he stayed.”

The underground dweller entered the storm drain by removing a manhole cover, Gonzales said.

His home was inside an 8-foot by 10-foot culvert. Officials said it is a dangerous spot because of the possibility of the culvert being flooded with water.

“It is not a place where a human should live,” Gonzales said. “It’s a system designed to take water at any given time. And there’s always a possibility he could be exposed to hydrogen sulfide (gas), which in a large amount could kill him.”

The gas is produced when underground waste decomposes, Gonzales said.

City workers were alerted to the underground dweller about two weeks ago by someone who saw the man emerging from the ground.

“The manhole (cover) fell open and there was a guy (coming) out,” he said.

Gonzales said he hopes the drain dweller doesn’t return to his underground abode, where he might risk injury. But, “It’s warmer than hanging out on the streets,” he said.

Dave Goldstein, 29, said he understands the plight of the man and many like him. Goldstein, who sleeps on the streets, said many homeless people sleep in Balboa Park, abandoned buildings, parking lots and under freeway overpasses.

Downtown redevelopment has razed many of the hotels with cheap rooms that street people once called home. “They closed them down and that’s what pushed them out,” said Goldstein, who earns $20 a day.