8 Living At West River Encampment Being Evicted, City Offers Services

NEW HAVEN, CT — With winter laying trees mostly bare around West River Memorial Park, the tops of a cluster of tents can be spied just above the thick rows of cattails from areas along Ella T. Grasso Boulevard. Described by some as a tent city, the encampment of eight New Haveners without fixed addresses, described by city officials as homeless but whom call the location home, are set to be evicted. Tomorrow.

After notices from the city in February and again last week, the people who live in those tents must pack up and be out by 1 p.m. Wednesday. The New Haven department of public works will move it all out if the residents do not at a "time to be determined," city said.

Patch reached out to Mayor Justin Elicker for comment.

“We have made regular, ongoing efforts in recent months to try to come alongside and support every individual at the West River Memorial Park in whatever ways we feasibly can in a thoughtful, respectful, and compassionate way — and we continue to stand ready and eager to do so and we want to help connect each person to assistance and resources that help address their housing and other needs.

At the same time, despite repeated conversations and notices, there continues to be numerous serious, ongoing public health and safety violations, including open burns and fires, large amounts of trash and debris, defecation, and the building of permanent structures in the park and wetland areas, among other violations.

Given these ongoing public health and safety issues, the City has required individuals at West River Memorial Park to vacate and remove all personal property from the site by Wednesday, March 15th at 1 pm.

Outreach workers have offered all individuals at the site access and placement at an indoor location, either at a shelter or warming center, or to assist them with relocation and finding a long-term housing unit.

We sincerely hope each person will avail themselves of these opportunities and, as a city, we will continue to come alongside and support these individuals in every way we can.”

The beginning of the end of the West River encampment

In August 2022, city health, fire and other officials, including advocates for the homeless, visited the encampment where a "community meeting" was being held. At the time, among myriad others concerns discussed, was residents' request for "a dumpster, running water, bathrooms, mailboxes, electricity, snow plowing, and options for heating source during the colder months. There was also some discussion about erecting permanent structures at the site," according to the February 2023 notice to the encampment residents. And while the majority of those requests were denied for various reasons, including the location is a park and bird sanctuary, is a temporary place to live, cannot have permanent buildings, running water, mailboxes, and the like. But the city and member agencies like Columbus House, and Cornell Scott Hill Health Center did provide "a plethora of onsite services for the occupants of the temporary West River encampment."

"The City of New Haven agreed to provide porta lets, sharps disposal containers, and a dumpster. Columbus House offered access to hot showers at their Annex site just up the street and onsite outreach services. Cornell Scott remained committed to providing health care and harm reduction services for all occupants of this temporary encampment. Further, during the winter months, the City of New Haven provides warming centers as an alternative to the encampment to protect people from the harsh winter temperatures."

Read the full letter here:

West River Temporary Encamp... by Ellyn Santiago

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The city maintains that while some encampment residents have been "engaged," some have not and have refused services. But it was a recent fire in one of the tents and a makeshift shower's "gray water being discharged into the West River," and, an "extreme amount of trash and debris at the site," the town issued its first notice Feb. 24 instructing residents to stop open burns, clean the site up, and remove the shower structure by March 3. Instead of complying, the city said, "another permanent structure is being constructed on the site, and there continues to be evidence of open burn and heating equipment in and around several tents."

Now, all there must remove their stuff and "vacate the premises." They had until March 10. But that was again extended to March 15, Wednesday.

Encampment Notice - West Ri... by Ellyn Santiago

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