Florida city's Riverwalk still a homeless hot spot despite new anti-camping law, critics say

Yahoo

2 days ago

FORT LAUDERDALE — Riverwalk has lush greenery, luxury yachts and landscaped gardens.
To the chagrin of critics, the charming promenade on the New River also has plenty of homeless people who come and go all hours of the day and night.
On occasion, some of them doze on the benches and winding path along the Riverwalk, in violation of a statewide ban on camping and sleeping in public places. The new law went into effect Oct. 1.
Frustrated neighborhood leaders shipped off a blistering letter of complaint in late June to several government officials, from Gov. Ron DeSantis to the entire Broward County commission and the entire Fort Lauderdale commission.
The letter, signed by leaders of nine condos near Riverwalk and five civic associations, included eight photos of homeless people sleeping or camping downtown. A ninth photo showed a nude man in broad daylight soaking his feet in one of downtown's water fountains.
Residents who live in the pricey condo towers lining Riverwalk think of the winding walkway as their front yard, said Melinda Bowker, president of the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Civic Association and one of the signers on the letter.
'People feel threatened,' Bowker told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. 'I don't want to demonize the homeless people. But residents on the Riverwalk don't feel safe anymore. People aren't comfortable walking by themselves at night. We just want to bring a light to it. And we want to get to the bottom of what can be done.'
Here's how the letter began: 'Our downtown neighborhood is facing a crisis. The visibility and severity of homelessness in our area has reached an unsustainable level. The rise in vagrancy, open drug use, aggressive panhandling, indecent exposure and public health hazards have made downtown residents feel increasingly unsafe in their own city.
'We have documented incidents of residents being harassed, chased, mugged, and even physically threatened in broad daylight and during evening hours. These occurrences are not isolated — they are frequent and growing.'
City Manager Rickelle Williams quickly responded to the letter with an email listing all the ways Fort Lauderdale is tackling the problem.
According to Williams, the city's multi-faceted approach includes:
Increasing police presence downtown: The police department's Homeless Outreach Team conducts daily rounds to connect homeless individuals with services and address criminal activity through Notices to Appear. The city has requested federal funding to expand police presence in hot-spot areas citywide, including downtown, and is awaiting the release of those funds.
Enhancing outreach efforts: In conjunction with the TaskForce Fore Ending Homelessness, two housing navigation teams are working daily to build trust and help individuals secure housing. Community Court has set up a downtown location to help people connect to critical services on a weekly basis.
Enforcing existing ordinances: To help tackle unauthorized camping, the city launched a reporting tool last October through its FixIT FTL app and also added two police officers to its Homeless Outreach Team. The city so far has responded to more than 160 homeless-related inquiries about camping or sleeping on public property.
Riverwalk signage and hours of operation: Signage will be installed along the entirety of Riverwalk by the end of August alerting the public that Riverwalk is closed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. to any activity other than pass-through pedestrian traffic.
Electrical outlets throughout Riverwalk: In response to complaints about homeless people using electrical outlets on lamp posts to charge their cellphones, the city is considering sturdier covers for outlets that cannot be turned off. Several outlets are connected to lamp posts, so disconnecting the outlet will result in the light turning off. In the future, as light fixtures are replaced, the city might place electrical outlets higher up on lamp posts to curb unauthorized use.
Police patrol of Riverwalk: The city currently deploys police and park rangers to Riverwalk. The Homeless Outreach Team regularly patrols the area with a focus on sections known to be routinely used by homeless individuals.
Commissioner Steve Glassman, whose district includes the Riverwalk, said the city is doing all it can within the bounds of the law to tackle the issue.
'It's a tricky balance dealing with the homeless,' Glassman said. 'When you're walking along the Riverwalk, people don't like to see it. But it is a public space. You can't get too aggressive without violating people's rights. That said, any illegal behavior is not going to be tolerated. But again, Riverwalk is a public space and it is open to everyone.'
Fans of the new state law had high hopes it would help get more homeless people off the streets in quick fashion. But so far, that has not happened, critics say.
'You can't just snatch people off of a bench on Riverwalk if they're not violating any laws,' Glassman said. 'What do you do? Do you just make people disappear? No one likes to see it, but (homeless individuals) do have rights. Should we be like ICE, popping out of a Penske truck and taking people away? It happened at a Home Depot in California. They called it the 'Trojan Horse' attack. It's always going to be a difficult balance. But I think we're going above and beyond in the city of Fort Lauderdale.'
Brian Kavalsky, director of the WaterGarden condo board, said he'd like to see the city do more.
Kavalsky walks his dogs along the Riverwalk before 4 a.m. and routinely encounters homeless people, many of them snoozing away.
Kavalsky spotted a man sleeping on a bench before 3 a.m. Thursday. He snapped a photo and texted it to the Sun Sentinel. Kavalsky said he didn't report it to the city because he figured by the time the police showed up, the man would be gone.
In Kavalsky's eyes, the homeless crisis has gotten worse in the past year.
The Riverwalk is just one of the city's many homeless hot spots, he noted.
'Part of the problem is we have the jail right here downtown,' Kavalsky said. 'We're never going to get the homeless population down to zero. The key is enforcement. That will help the Riverwalk. If they have a cop walking that route every two hours and kicking everyone out, they'll be gone.'
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