OBSERVER Photo by Christopher Blakeslee
Jamestown Police officers, city officials and employees begin the process of removing homeless individuals from along the Riverwalk and the train viaduct Monday, after previous warnings were issued Friday to vacate city owned land.
Around 11 a.m. Monday, Jamestown police officers, city officials, representatives from the Mobile Crisis Team and the Parks and Recreation Department began clearing the Riverwalk and area underneath the North Main Street Railroad Viaduct, demanding individuals who are living in makeshift tents vacate from city-owned property and to take their possessions with them.
The notice demanded that any property owned by the homeless had to be removed by today or be disposed of as the city cleans up the mess left behind.
“Now what,” said Rodney “Ruddy” White, an unhoused individual who was living near the viaduct. “We just started the paperwork with county people to get housed last week. It’s the government, they take forever to do anything. But they were on time to boot us out of here.”
As previously reported by The Post-Journal, Mayor Kim Ecklund estimates that between 200 to 300 homeless and unhoused individuals have been camping in the city.
OBSERVER Photo by Christopher Blakeslee
Homeless and their belongings are pictured near the Chadakoin Riverwalk last week.
“So, they booted us,” said White. “I guess I’ll just move on down the Riverwalk in the opposite direction.”
In a news release Friday, city officials said In June a single business in Brooklyn Square received 43 calls for service, with the total for the area exceeding more than 100 calls for police service. Before Monday’s clearing of Brooklyn Square, the city completed one encampment cleanup in the area around and including Ransom Alley. Homeless individuals received advance notice of the cleanup and a 96-hour relocation period. Outreach services, including mobile crisis support, were available on the day of the cleanup.
City officials said late Friday that Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Office of Mental Health are moving funding for the Crisis Stabilization Center for Recovery Options Made Easy (ROME). Additionally, Hochul and the Office of Mental Health are collaborating with hospital-based providers to expand acute psychiatric capacity.
“We will continue to engage with the governor and OMH to ensure a facility is designated in Southwestern New York in the near future,” the city said in its news release. “Furthermore, a Mobile Medication Unit (MMU) supported by Promesa is expected to become operational later this year, enhancing access to critical addiction treatment medications.”
In California, local municipalities have been ordered to clear encampments that pose health and safety risks, with Governor Gavin Newsom recently participating in these operations. San Francisco is conducting sweeps despite its shelters being at 94% capacity, and Escondido will enact a ban on illegal encampments starting Friday. Similarly, Minnesota and Des Moines, Iowa, are implementing bans and penalties. Locally, Salamanca and the Seneca Nation are removing illegal encampments. In Buffalo, officials cleared a downtown encampment and encouraged individuals to volunteer at shelters rather than providing resources that might inadvertently perpetuate the issue. The City of Olean has endorsed a resolution to form a homelessness task force
OBSERVER Photo by John Whittaker
An area that had been cluttered with bicycles and other debris is clean as of Monday afternoon.
“Jamestown residents are demanding immediate action to address the growing issue of encampments,” the city said Friday. “They are increasingly frustrated by the dangerous and unsanitary conditions along the Riverwalk, including discarded needles, public urination, human waste, and the pervasive odors they produce. The presence of hazardous pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli, Hepatitis A, and norovirus, coupled with the spread of rodents and pests from the encampments to residential areas, has created a significant public health crisis. Residents are also troubled by rampant graffiti, trash, and debris littering public spaces, as well as the aggressive and violent behavior exhibited by some individuals.”