Three years ago I took the bike down the trail in Albany’s Simpson Park and made a video of the experience. Not many people saw it, but just yesterday somebody left this comment: “This park today is absolutely filthy and infested with homeless encampments.”
For a reason shrouded in the mist of long ago, the City of Albany owns three lots in the same block as the Albany Helping Hands homeless shelter. The shelter has an idea of how the lots could serve a useful purpose, and it’s not to house people in ragtag tents.
I was out of town when I wrote Monday about the latest plan to rid Simpson Park of unauthorized encampments. On Tuesday the bike took me there to look around.
The first thing I noticed when I stopped by the Hub City Village construction site last Saturday was the concrete pool to the right of the entrance.
Given the reports last week on conditions in “Marvin’s Garden,” it was clear that Albany’s designated camping site for homeless people would have to be shut down.
Four years after the City of Albany condemned a house at 610 Sherman St. and then had it demolished, the still vacant lot has new owners and is being prepared for construction.
Our off-street paths are cleaner: Here’s why
On bike rides along Albany’s main off-street paths over the first few weeks this summer, I noticed something that wasn’t there.
Tags: Albany paths, cleaner paths, community service officers, encampments, homeless, off-street paths, park ranger, parks and rec