The newest resident at 253 High Street, in the HPD lobby
According to sources, a homeless female has taken up residence in the lobby of the Hartford Police Department for the last couple weeks.
She has apparently moved in with several pieces of luggage and has pizza delivered for her meals.
We need to do better than this. Now I know, that some homeless people don't want to accept any help, but the lobby of a public building is not an acceptable alternative , especially when we have so many buildings sitting empty that could be used.
As an example , the Hartford YMCA still sits empty to this day after we fell for a grand proposal for the property that never happened.
There needs to be an effort for more dignity for all of our citizens.
There’s about to be another empty property real soon when the city closes the firehouse at 275 Pearl St....
ReplyDeleteSold for $1 on a sweetheart Deal.
ReplyDeleteThere any truth to that firehouse being closed Kevin?
ReplyDeletejust hearing this tonight, I will start looking, any details would be appreciated
ReplyDeleteThat’s what we’ve been told at the staff meetings for a long time now, and relocating the companies to the other ends of the city. Last meeting we were given a definitive date on the closure.
ReplyDeleteWhy has she not been removed from loitering in the lobby?
ReplyDeleteThere are 4 to 5 regulars that spend the night in the lobby and no one says anything. One of them puts his blanket on the floor and takes off his boots. What happens when that number turns to 14, then 24?! I don't want people to freeze, but there are plenty of shelters and resources for these people. Of course shelters have curfews and rules. At the police department you can stumble in any time of night and crash out in the lobby. I feel bad for a legitimate complainant who has to sit or stand next to one of these people who are unwashed, probably drunk or high, and possibly on the sex offender registry list. But who cares about legitimate victims or complainants? Certainly not City Hall. By the way, why doesn't City Hall leave its doors open all night long for people to sleep and take residence in? I guess they don't want their workplace to be riddled with bums and drunks.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Reggie can make her an assistant chief- she’s way more qualified than the two clowns we have now and shes a city resident!
ReplyDeleteI live in the area. Where are the details of this? I haven’t seen any kind of articles or news in the paper or tv. Were we going to be told that our local firehouse is closing? How is it HPD can have a major downtown presence at all times yet the downtown firehouse is gonna close....
ReplyDeleteThey’ve been shutting down that shithole for the last 15 years. Someone should find out how much it costs taxpayers to house 6 firefighters in that waste of square footage ALL 34,000 OF IT!!!! Imagine the cost of utilities for 34,000 sg ft. It’s been the joke of HFD for a very long time and the only ones who don’t get the punchline are the politicians in charge of our money in city hall.
ReplyDelete8:55AM
ReplyDeleteFunny you would know the exact square footage...chief
The vagrants in the front lobby of PSC have been there for 3 weeks. The one female who has 15 garbage bags with her has technically established residency under state law on one of the two benches. Command staff are probably completely unaware of the loitering issue as they sit in their comfy safe offices upstairs. The front lobby smells like complete trash and quite frankly is embarrassing for HPD to not only disregard the issue but to also turn a blind eye. Numerous officers have brought this issue up to their superiors and have been told there is nothing they can do and to leave it alone. One night there was a count of 9 vagrants sleeping in the front lobby. This occurs EVERY SINGLE night. It's disgusting and unsafe for officers and the public entering and leaving the PSC. Its unfortunate but expected that Command staff didnt address this issue 3 weeks ago but they need to address this immediately. Its embarrassing and just plain ridiculous.
ReplyDelete10:06am
ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunate that we have people in our City facing such conditions, but it should be a reminder to all of us that it could happen to any of us for a variety of reasons.
When I first heard about this, some of the thoughts you mentioned came to mind.
I thought that after 2 weeks, technically you established "legal residency". So does that mean in order to have her leave, the City will have to start an eviction process through the Housing Court? Won't that make for some great headlines in the media.
Everyone loitering in the front lobby has been offered a ride to the warming shelter by patrol and they have declined. The warming shelter at Pope Park is full as of last night and is turning people away. And yes legally the city will need to evict her from her comfy bench in the front lobby. Numerous officers have seen these vagrants using city power outlet to charge their cell phones all day long, taking showers in the sinks of the bathroom lobby and even cutting toenails in the lobby. Gross, embarrassing and typical for the city of Hartford and HPD.
ReplyDeleteKevin if you want a true first hand experience go to the PSC tonight at 11pm and you can see everyone sleeping on the floors, changing their phones and stinking up the lobby.
Wait a second, I’m a tax payer. If there are 6 firefighters in that building regardless of the utility bill, they are there to protect my family. How can you justify closing it down over a light bill...you saying my family and neighbors don’t deserve the same protection as everyone else in the city? Every time I walk by the place there’s some kind of fire truck or SUV behind every garage door. I have to assume the size of the building is being utilized. If it’s not, then shame on who ever is in charge.
ReplyDeletePutting a utility bill over someone’s life....I feel so much safer with this department now.
11:11 and others
ReplyDeleteI understand your comments, but can we please try to be a little more compassionate about the demeaning terms. I am sure there are plenty of people uncomfortable being around "homeless" or street people. I doubt most of us would smell real good or appear proper without clean clothes or no shower facilities. It must be tough trying to stay clean bathing in a hand sink in a public restroom. Just a thought.
11:21am
ReplyDeleteYou are mistaken. You must not have walked by that building in years because besides TAC 1 and the District Chief's SUV, the "red car", no fire apparatus has been garaged there in years, and unless they close Engine 1 or Engine 2 downtown, response times for fire fighting apparatus will not be compromised at all. Closing any other "firehouse" in the City would definitely affect response times, Pearl Street will not.
What The Tac is not a firefighting apparatus?
ReplyDeleteThat shows your lack of firefighting knowledge.
So why do they go to fires?
3:14PM
ReplyDeleteI think you know exactly what I meant, and I am pretty sure if I requested the info, we would see that most of the responses for the TAC do not originate from Pearl Street and more likely they are elsewhere in the City when they are dispatched, so where they are headquartered is pretty much irrelevant. And to lower to your level, maybe you could answer me how the TAC compares to a traditional engine or ladder truck. What is the maximum amount of water the TAC carries to immediately put on a fire if they arrive before the first due engine. If they run out of water, what is the tallest ladder they carry to effect an aerial rescue? In no way were my comments meant to demean the efforts of those assigned to the TAC, they serve a specialized purpose, and although they assist at working fire scenes, their primary role is not putting water on flames. TAC1 is probably one of the busiest rescue units in the Country, if not the busiest. It is disappointing you guys can not logically debate an issue and possibly change my mind instead of resorting to the name calling and related nonsense to bolster tour positions. And all of your ignorance aside, I have much more confidence in our Fire and Police professionals than to think they would decide who they serve or assist based upon the personality of the person involved
I think your missing the point here. It’s a downtown firehouse, where any fire over the 7th floor automatically puts every ladder truck out of commission. It becomes a manpower issue now, and the fact that there are trained personnel within downtown to rescue or evacuate a building is what matters here. Do you think the 5 Rescue companies in NYC made or or less of a difference on 9/11 because they weren’t engine or ladder companies?
ReplyDeleteAnd for what it’s worth, take a look at the recent accreditation that was completed for the dept. Most of the TAC calls originate on the side of the city they are currently in, downtown, north/south meadows, and highway. Once again, putting a utility bill over the safety of the visitors and residents of the city.
Kevin look at the TAC1 response records before you run your mouth.
ReplyDelete4:15PM
ReplyDeletewend them to me, I'll gladly post them, this is not about the TAC or their performance, it is about the logistics and what is best for the residents and HFD
The homeless woman in the lobby has met with mental health workers who stated she is not a danger to herself or others and refused other services as is her right. Officers actually drove her to another town, New Britain I believe, to a shelter who refused her. Why is she not at a shelter? Because she has been BANNED by all of them. That's the real story here. She does not want help. Police have done everything they legally can to assist her to get help. The mayor ordered the department last year to NOT kick out the homeless in the lobby. So there. Facts. Now what?
ReplyDeleteI guess the Mayor changed his mind. She must not have been a Bronin voter, she was removed today and threatened with arrest if she returns, end of story
ReplyDeleteShe can't establish residence on a lobby bench inside a police department. The folks posting she needed to be evicted are simply wrong.
ReplyDeleteShe could 100% establish residency inside of PSC. Why could she not? She was having her meds delivered to PSC, uber eats was delivering to her, she was even receiving faxes at PSC too. Thank god someone manned up and drove her out of there. Still 7 more were sleeping on the floors as of last night.
ReplyDeleteShe can't establish residency on a bench in a lobby because it's not a residence. Second CT statute requires a verbal agreement at minimum. Third, were you here during occupy Hartford? Hundred people camped out on city property for weeks. All removed legally without evictions.
ReplyDeleteYou want homeless people out of lobby's? Here's what you do.... have the Hartford high marching squad come in there with their instruments and play them when the homeless people are trying to sleep. Problem solved
ReplyDeleteThanks DC Ralphie. Your internal memo certainly wasnt 6 weeks too late in regards to the encampment in the front lobby. It was funny to see the lobby completely empty 2 nights before the memo was finally issued. I guess the saying "better late than never" really is a mantra for you.
ReplyDeleteHow great it is to be on such a high pedestal that you are naïve to the fact that this could one day be you or a loved one with a blink of an eye. Just because a person is homeless doesn't automatically mean they are a criminal, sex offender, etc.
ReplyDelete