SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – The Little Italy neighborhood of San Jose is the newest community to face problems due to the combination of COVID and nearby homeless camps.

“People see that and then turn around and drive back in their car. We don’t want that, ”says Pino Spatola, the owner of the Paisano restaurant.

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Spatola says aggressive people living in the camps near his restaurant in Paisano have also threatened his workers.

“Outside they started chasing one of my employees. They started pounding on their car, ”Spatola said.

The restaurant is one of the pillars of San Jose’s Little Italy, a two-block community of historic Italian-American houses and shops near the SAP Center. It is also adjacent to the Guadalupe River Park, which has many camps and a large population who live on the river banks.

Squatters have set fire to empty houses in the neighborhood, and neighbors say there are always break-ins and thefts.

It is too much for an Italian language school for children. The owner posted a message on Facebook detailing the combination
of COVID and the homeless problem is “a nightmare”.

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The school is now permanently closed.

“A safe environment is very important to the school,” said Joshua Devincenzi, president of Little Italy San Jose. “We are of course sad because they were our first shop here in Little Italy.”

He said the loss of the neighborhood school and coffeehouse were recent setbacks, but the community is still making headway.

The police patrols have been strengthened, a local museum is being built and Google is helping with the move of The Poor House Bistro
the free space next to Henry’s Hi Life Restaurant.

“We are not yet finished as a district. We’re still here, we’re still open for business, ”said Devincenzi.

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“My business is doing very well,” said Mr. Spatola, who wants to stay in the neighborhood and help Little Italy grow.

The post COVID, Homeless Encampments Are Last Straws For College In San Jose’s Little Italy Neighborhood – CBS San Francisco appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.