Residents complain to City Commissioners about “nuisance activities” associated with homeless people

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Multiple residents have sent complaints to Gainesville City Commissioners about their recent experiences with homeless people in Gainesville.

A woman who lives downtown wrote on August 16 that since she moved in, she has come home to find homeless people “sleeping in the yard, they have broken into my garage and used my yard as a garbage can. Today I had to call the police because a woman almost came into my house, as she was yelling obscenities at me. She got on my porch and stole my shoes… I am a young woman who lives alone and unfortunately, as much as I love this city, this issue is ongoing and is pushing me and others out of it.”

She said she filed a police report, “and they have mentioned that this falls on the commission and unfortunately, nobody has done anything about these issues in the past. At this point, I am afraid for my life and I want to know how a great city like this, which is home to so many young kids walking around, can allow their downtown to be overwhelmed with drugs and public drug dealings, fighting, and yelling throughout the day, every day.”

City Commissioner Ed Book forwarded the email to the City Manager’s officer, saying, “[C]omments alleged below by the complainant are disconcerting. Please handle/assign as the Manager sees fit.” He received a response from Cintya Ramos in the City Manager’s office a month later that simply attached the GPD report on the incident.

“People are living and having sex in the restroom area at the park”

Another resident wrote to the City Commission on October 17, complaining about nuisance activities at Smokey Bear Park, 2300 NE 15th Street. She wrote, “[T]he park is no longer safe for our children and citizens in Gainesville… Smokey Bear Park has an increase in homeless citizens loitering in the park all day and all times of night even when the park is closed with drug activity, prostitution, loud music, gambling, and alcohol use… It has beer cans, used condom wrappers… trash, and open drug paraphernalia packaging on the ground around the park… [T]here are always A LOT of homeless citizens… Every morning I walk down, I can see the trash and used condom wrappers lying everywhere.”

She asked them to increase lighting at the park and add gate barriers “so cars and people can’t party in the park late at night when the park is closed. GPD needs to go there and increase patrol at the park and check to see why people are hanging out at the park from 11 p.m. [to] almost 6 a.m… It needs cameras, people are living and having sex in the restroom area at the park.”

Book responded that her concerns “are a very high priority for me.” He said he forwarded the email to the City Manager’s office and hoped “to hear positive difference-making efforts soon.” Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut wrote that the concerns were “disturbing to read”; she also forwarded them to the City Manager. Only Book and Chestnut publish their emails for the public to read.

Miami Beach passes ordinance permitting arrests of people who sleep outside and decline shelter

A local business owner sent a link to a Miami Herald article to City and County Commissioners: “Miami Beach OKs arresting homeless people for sleeping outside if they decline shelter.” The new ordinance, which bans sleeping outside, was passed on Wednesday. The ordinance provides that people who are sleeping outside will be arrested if they are not willing to accept a shelter bed and that they won’t be arrested unless a shelter bed is available. A similar Orlando ordinance was upheld in federal court in 2000.