WET BLANKET: One homeless man covers his head after sprinklers drench both sidewalks around City Hall. Most left after this first water assault. After they came on again, the rest moved.
In my travels last night, I happened to pass by St. Petersburg’s City Hall while visiting some friends in the downtown area. What I saw boiled my blood.
For the last few months several homeless people have taken to camping out on the sidewalk in front of the building. It’s not a protest; there are simply few places to sleep these days where business owners won’t complain.
Last night, I noticed there were considerably less people on the sidewalk than normal. I immediately saw why: the sprinklers were on and drenching the sidewalks on both sides of City Hall.
I got out of my car and approached a group standing by a bus stop wrapped in blankets. I asked them about the sprinklers. They replied the sprinklers have come on the last five nights.
“You see, we timed it before — Tuesday or Wednesday night,†said Warren, a husky man in a red sweatshirt, who sleeps out here every night. “But the last week, it’s been every day.â€
Another bum piped in: “I thought we were under conservation rules.â€
These street people said they didn’t expect the sprinklers tonight. They jolted awake as the water hit them.
“Now our stuff is wet,†complained Warren.
Is this just a coincidence? Or a concerted effort by Mayor Rick Baker to rid the sidewalks around his offices of homeless people?
Either is plausible, I guess. I’m waiting on callbacks from the Mayor’s Office, the parks department and the water conservation department to figure out the rules for watering city land and if they knew about this situation.
But seeing as many of the sprinklers were soaking the sidewalks and not the small patches of grass surrounding City Hall, and the city’s own water rules recommend using reclaimed water only three times a week, I don’t think it’s a coincidence. In the least, it is a horrible waste of water; at most, it’s an attack on some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens. City officials know these people are sleeping here — couldn’t they figure out a solution that doesn’t involve soaking them with reclaimed water?
If this is a concerted effort to get the homeless off city property, I would be seriously disappointed in city officials. What a passive-aggressive way to deal with your homeless problem, St. Petersburg.
If city officials hate the homeless sleeping on the sidewalk so much, I would much rather them order the police to arrest said bums. At least that takes cojones. But turning on the sprinklers and drenching them with reclaimed water on the coldest night of the season is not only cruel, but spineless.
UPDATE: I missed a call late Friday from Cliff Footlick, director of the city's parks department, but he did leave a message. Turns out, the Mayor's Office was wrong and the sprinklers feed off a well and not the reclaimed water system. Footlick said the sprinklers are only supposed to water the lawn on Sundays and wasn't aware of any change to that. He said he'll check out the timers on Monday. I'll update with any extra news then.
This article appears in Nov 14-20, 2007.