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.
One year ago, trying to comply with state law, Albany set up a designated homeless camping site on two city-owned lots near Ninth Avenue and Jackson Street and called it Marvin’s Garden. The place has turned into a big trouble spot, and city officials are trying to figure out what to do next.
The Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision upheld the right of cities to prohibit camping on public property. But don’t expect the ruling to make a difference in what you see on Albany streets.
Every once in a while, bike rides around Albany take me past 241 Waverly Drive S.E., where the Creating Housing Coalition is building 27 “tiny houses” in a compound it calls Hub City Village.
Albany’s officially sanctioned homeless encampment has been open since July 1, and the city council Monday received a report on the place.
Conditions on Albany’s trails range from nice and picked up to messy, as my bike rides along the Dave Clark Path and the Periwinkle Bikepath showed this past week.
At Albany homeless site, the end is near
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.
Tags: CHANCE, homeless, Marvin's Garden, police