Homeless Encampments 'Prepared And Fortified To Fight' After Eviction Deadline Passes
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The deadline for three homeless encampments in Philadelphia to dismantle has come and gone. The city gave them until 9 a.m. to vacate the three areas of the city but no action was taken.
Philadelphia police sources tell Eyewitness News officers originally planned to remove the encampment during the overnight hours Thursday. Officials have reportedly been told to bring an extra uniform and police have information that the encampment said they are "prepared and fortified to fight."
However, sources now say the city is looking into a more peaceful alternative.
Around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, the official Instagram page for the Parkway encampment put out a request for more people to show up and stated there could be police activity overnight.
In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Jim Kenney declined to confirm the city's next steps in dismantling the encampments, only saying officials are "considering their options."
The encampment on the Parkway is still largely intact. A spokesman from the city tells Eyewitness News a handful of people left on their own will and accepted the city's offer to transitional housing, but the rest are still at the encampments.
The city gave them until 9 a.m. Wednesday to vacate the camp. This was the third deadline the city has given them since they set up camp back in June.
"Unfortunately, as many of you saw firsthand, protest leaders refused to allow those conducting outreach efforts into the camps. They erected barricades and held up shields, they cursed at the clergy and they threatened violence and destruction," Kenney said.
The city's Office of Homeless Services, other city departments, and clergy were at the camp Wednesday to help those who took them up on their offer.
Through federal stimulus funding, the new ESG Rapid Rehousing Program will be used toward helping the homeless.
"We are creating 900 to 1,400 long-term housing opportunities and that will make a dent. That will help some people move off the street," said Eva Gladstein, deputy managing director of Health and Human Services.
However, those who are living there say they want permanent housing now. They say the city has an unused housing stock that can house them all permanently. But what the city is offering is transitional housing.
"Elsa and the cartographers mapped up all the abandoned houses and found that there are 10 abandoned houses for every homeless person in Philadelphia right now," said Cheri Honkala, with the Poor People's Army.
On Wednesday morning, encampment residents held a news conference before their impending eviction. One speaker pointed their attacks directly at Mayor Kenney.
"He acting like we don't exist, which is what the city continually tries to do," activist Jamaal Henderson said. "This protest started here and has been here because we know that this is a blight for this city. We're doing this here because we know if we take this Parkway, the city has no choice but to pay attention to us."
Kenney spent the last two months meeting with organizers who he says rejected every proposal. Although he refuses to commit to a final deadline, he says when the evictions do occur, he wants to ensure they're safe.
"Something is going to happen at some point in time, shortly. Look, if we had gone in there day one and cleared the place out violently and physically you'd be asking why we did that. So now we're trying to do it in a way where no one gets hurt and now that's not fast enough," Kenney said.
Activists say if this encampment is dismantled they will re-emerge at an equally visible location. Kenney says if that happens, they'll cross that bridge when they get there.
Protesters say eviction is violence, but Eyewitness News cameras rolled as an all-out brawl took place at the Parkway encampment.
All the commotion has caused even more of a disruption in the area.
Police have closed off a portion of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway due to the protests.
Neighbors have managed to continue their daily runs and make their way through the chaos.
"I think what they've done has run its course. I don't think staying here any longer is going to further their cause," said Mike Thompson, who lives nearby.
Whole Foods boarded up its windows on Tuesday in anticipation of what was to come Wednesday. Other buildings in the area have also taken precautionary measures.
Cityview Condominiums have closed one of its entrances that faces Hamilton Street.
A man named Michael who lives less than a block away from the encampment says he understands the need to house homeless but he says the camp is simply unsafe.
"When I walked into the building last night, there were armed guards at our entrance over here," Michael said. "It's my personal opinion right now that the homeless are being exploited by other interests."
The point about the need for housing has been heard by those who live in the neighborhood surrounding the encampment along the Parkway. But they say the drug use and waste problem is too much to bear. They also fear there could be weapons.
Wednesday was the third time the city threatened to clear the park but the evictions didn't happen.
As fed up as neighbors say they are with the encampment, they're equally fed up with the city.
"Each time they said they were going to move it, I thought, 'OK, it's time to move.' I felt that the first time they did it, this is the third time they're trying to move it and I'm just getting tired of them saying they're going to move it and then not moving it," Thompson said.
CBS3's Howard Monroe, Alecia Reid and Greg Argos contributed to this report.
