Homeless Move After Albany Pays $3,000 to Clear Area for State Park

Homeless residents at the Albany Bulb will now have to find a new place to call home after the city gave them a 5 p.m. Friday deadline to move out of the area.

Many of the 45 homeless residents at the Bulb were paid $3,000 each to move out of the homeless camp and stay out of the area for at least a year. The area of the longtime homeless camp is slated to become part of the Eastshore State Park.

Meeting Friday's deadline was a mad dash for Bob Anderson, who spent years living at the Bulb.

"Oh my God my rage has been out of control just with all my stuff out here," he said. "The valuable things I have that I just cannot leave behind."

Attorney Osha Neuman with the East Bay Community Law Center helped represent the residents and called the eviction a bittersweet day.

"We got them $3,000, but we weren't able to get them homes," Neuman said. "We weren't able to get them in a place where they could be stable and secure."

The city agreed to pay 28 homeless residents. Others who were camping at the Bulb refused the city's offer. Those who rejected the buyout could be cited and end up in jail, officials said.

City officials have teamed up with the Berkeley Food and Housing Project to help the campers find housing. The effort has helped 16 of the 28 people who took the settlement find housing.

NBC Bay Area's Terry McSweeney contributed to this report.

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