I was a citizen activist...and it worked!
I don't know if it was from one of my calls to the South Side Reporter, South Side Local Development Company, The Mayor's Office 311 line or what, but we got some response to a neighborhood blight.
Here is the story from the local South Side Reporter:
http://www.sopghreporter.com/link.asp?smenu=65&sdetail=9267&wpage=1
The City Public Works Department Friday posted signs at an encampment filled with debris near a railroad crossing at 18th Street to inform "homeless" intruders that they have 10 days to dispel and vacate the premises.
What next?
"I don’t know where they are going. I don’t know where they came from," said acting Zone 3 Police Commander Shirley Sloan.
"My argument remains that these are not homeless people," Councilman Bruce Kraus said. "These are people who choose to camp on private property." He had asked the city’s Law Department for definitions differentiating between those left homeless by circumstances and those who choose to live out in the open.
South Pittsburgh Reporter Editor Tom Smith visited the area recently and said most of the intruders seem to have left but the area looked "a mess."
Local residents were originally upset when they heard about the encampment made of tents and tarp. They were dismayed by reports of litter and drug use and were further disturbed by the news that one of the visitors Mr. Kraus prefers to describe as "transients" allegedly murdered another visitor.
The acting commander said she heard four or five complaints and knew of about a dozen transients seen in that area.
Mr. Kraus said there were "four pieces of the puzzle" his office has to consider: the police, the CSX Railroad, the Law Department and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The city had some concerns, he said. The Law Department wanted to make sure the city handled matters with "due diligence" to avoid lawsuits by the ACLU or anyone else.
Also, it is commonly believed CSX owns the property in question, although Mr. Kraus said "it is a little confusing as to who owns it." He said CSX has given permission to the city to take steps to remedy matters on any property it owns.
The issue with transients is not a new problem, Mr. Kraus said. As a South Side resident he was aware that transients came by trains every year during warm weather and camped down by the river and were accused of making drug deals and pan handling.
"It is generally a relatively simple matter to take care of," he said. The police encourage them to move on. This has South Side ‘Hooverville’ on way to becoming part of recent history
I was so happy, I emailed a thank you letter. Here is is:
Thank you for the attention you gave "Hooterville" in the paper.
As a long time resident of the South Side, I was saddened and worried by the trashiness and potential for danger the residents of "Hooterville" posed to our community. People who could care so little about their environment, inside or out, could only show the same disregard for the people who are forced to share their space.
Thank you again. I've attached pictures I'd taken from our park from the hooterville encampments.
JR
Here is the story from the local South Side Reporter:
http://www.sopghreporter.com/link.asp?smenu=65&sdetail=9267&wpage=1
The "Homeless Hotel" on Pittsburgh’s south side should be gone soon.
The City Public Works Department Friday posted signs at an encampment filled with debris near a railroad crossing at 18th Street to inform "homeless" intruders that they have 10 days to dispel and vacate the premises.
What next?
"I don’t know where they are going. I don’t know where they came from," said acting Zone 3 Police Commander Shirley Sloan.
"My argument remains that these are not homeless people," Councilman Bruce Kraus said. "These are people who choose to camp on private property." He had asked the city’s Law Department for definitions differentiating between those left homeless by circumstances and those who choose to live out in the open.
South Pittsburgh Reporter Editor Tom Smith visited the area recently and said most of the intruders seem to have left but the area looked "a mess."
Local residents were originally upset when they heard about the encampment made of tents and tarp. They were dismayed by reports of litter and drug use and were further disturbed by the news that one of the visitors Mr. Kraus prefers to describe as "transients" allegedly murdered another visitor.
The acting commander said she heard four or five complaints and knew of about a dozen transients seen in that area.
Mr. Kraus said there were "four pieces of the puzzle" his office has to consider: the police, the CSX Railroad, the Law Department and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The city had some concerns, he said. The Law Department wanted to make sure the city handled matters with "due diligence" to avoid lawsuits by the ACLU or anyone else.
Also, it is commonly believed CSX owns the property in question, although Mr. Kraus said "it is a little confusing as to who owns it." He said CSX has given permission to the city to take steps to remedy matters on any property it owns.
The issue with transients is not a new problem, Mr. Kraus said. As a South Side resident he was aware that transients came by trains every year during warm weather and camped down by the river and were accused of making drug deals and pan handling.
"It is generally a relatively simple matter to take care of," he said. The police encourage them to move on. This has South Side ‘Hooverville’ on way to becoming part of recent history
I was so happy, I emailed a thank you letter. Here is is:
Thank you for the attention you gave "Hooterville" in the paper.
As a long time resident of the South Side, I was saddened and worried by the trashiness and potential for danger the residents of "Hooterville" posed to our community. People who could care so little about their environment, inside or out, could only show the same disregard for the people who are forced to share their space.
Thank you again. I've attached pictures I'd taken from our park from the hooterville encampments.
JR
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