Only a few items were left Thursday evening at Ninth and Pacific.
On Thursday evening I got off the bike and looked around near the Ninth Avenue ramp on the south side of the Pacific Boulevard viaduct in Albany. The site had been almost completely cleaned up.
For three weeks since the closure of Marvin’s Garden, the City of Albany’s former designated homeless camp site at Ninth Avenue and Jackson Street, people had settled down a block to the west.
The Oregon Department of Transportation owns the property there, bordering Highway 20 or Pacific Boulevard and across the ramp from the Helping Hands shelter. In early September, ODOT posted notices saying the encampment had to be gone by Sept. 14, and any belongings left there after that would be removed.
But it took longer for the people staying near the ramp to move, most likely because, well, where could they go?
This was the scene near the Ninth Avenue ramp on Sept. 16.
But as I say, the next time a bike ride took me past the location, on Sept. 26, almost all the stuff that had been there a few days before had disappeared. And the campers had, too.
Looking at the site from near the highway on the evening of Sept. 26.
About the only thing left was this stake holding ODOT’s notice that camping there is prohibited.
The people who had been camping at the site since Aug. 29, when Marvin’s Garden closed, might have numbered about a dozen or so.
I didn’t see them leave, and I don’t know where they went. I hope they found a spot somewhere that is sheltered and reasonably safe. (hh)
I second your hope that they found a spot that is reasonably safe.
Everyone in charge always wondes how to stop the amount of homeless people???? Do something about the land lords…figure a fair amount for their rental, and cap it ! No rent hikes every year…no evictions…less homeless!
Debra, you truly don’t know, or understand being a rental property owner in the state of Oregon.
Rent hikes? The most the state allows is 10% a year max. If I rent a property for $1,500.00 a month that’s $15.00 a month extra…not hardly what I call a rent hike.
Evictions are nearly impossible, and require going to court several times with renters often being given extensions (no rent to the landlord) so they can get back on their feet.
We private small property owners are not abusing the system… more often it’s the tenants who are abusing it.
I don’t know about the complexities of the rental market, but I know that 10 percent of $1,500 is $150, not $15.
My rent has doubled in the last ten year’s electric bill on the rise the cost of water basic needs the water company is the only one you can get water from so they can charge whatever they want and if you fight an eviction and lose good luck finding your next place
I did
10% of 1500.00 is150.00 not 15.00.
As has been pointed out.
I’ve rented for 60 years. I’ve always paid rent on time, kept property clean and have only had one manager/ owner treat me with respect. I always feel like I’m under suspicion for being a deadbeat. I agree there are abusers but it does not outnumber the good tenants.
I now have a mobile home in a park. My rent has double in 9 years. I’m on a fixed income. My rent is 60% of my income yet I don’t quite qualify for help. I’m close to being homeless at almost 70 years old.
I get no services included in the rent, I pay on time, yet the manager is cobs on my case. I received an eviction notice last year because there was a nine inch crack in my siding and I was having trouble finding a repair person I could afford. Landlords have more power than tenants and it goes to their heads over everyone instead of just the squatters.
They will be back
Start charging the campers rent then there wouldn’t be so many people homeless
LOL
Winner of the dumbest comment of the month! Year? Decade!
willow- you forgot no drugs or alcohol. :)
LaydieK and Fred are just a few examples of people struggling in Albany to remain in their homes. All the wasted money everyone donates to the homeless shelters could keep people in their homes. Every tiny bit of their income goes for surviving and contributing to our local economy. They do not trash our city and waste city services such as cleaning up garbage all over the city, crime or other lawless behavior. LaydieK has enough income that she does not get help. She carries her own weight but needed a little help with home repairs. Albany needs to decide whether they want a city that supports the people who contribute to our society or keep paying for more people to come here who just want a place to crash. Affordable housing should be built in safer areas and where these abandoned people have good neighbors that treat them like human beings. Life is not always fair. People like our family and others that are more fortunate, are able to give a little to make a big difference in someone’s life. A little bit of money, your time and kindness goes a lot further than getting a hard bed and hopelessness that the donated shelters supply.