ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 City officials next week are set to start the process to clear another homeless encampment along Jordan Creek.<\/p>\n
Mayor Matt Tuerk last week told LehighValleyNews.com that a camp south of where the Hamilton Street bridge crosses the creek would be \u201cnext\u201d to be shut down by the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s about 20 residents that are in a floodplain that we\u2019re going to have to evacuate,\u201d he said Oct. 16. \u201cBut we have to make sure that we have the resources available to do that evacuation compassionately.\u201d<\/p>\n
A count by city officials this week found 37 tents in the area to be evicted, Tuerk said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Public works employees and police will post no trespassing signs Monday. One part of the camp will be cleared starting Nov. 10, with the other part to be cleared a week later.<\/p>\n
‘Minimum disruption’<\/p>\n
The Allentown Health Bureau will set up a trailer to help service providers connect with displaced residents during that period.<\/p>\n
The cleanup is scheduled to start two weeks after trespassing notices are posted. That gives camp residents \u201csome time to make an adjustment\u201d and allows the city to \u201cpull our resources together\u201d for the effort, Tuerk said.<\/p>\n
City officials aim to cause residents \u201cminimum disruption to an already precarious life,\u201d Tuerk said.<\/p>\n
A group of residents from the camp attended last week\u2019s council meeting. They said they were told they had to leave but weren\u2019t given a timeline.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to worry about moving every so often; it doesn\u2019t help us because then we\u2019re concentrating on that and not concentrating on getting ourselves in a better situation.”<\/p>\n
A man from the homeless camp set to be shut down<\/p>\n
A man who\u2019s lived there several months told LehighValleyNews.com he was \u201cmaking sure my site\u2019s cleaned up” and staying ready to move at a moment’s notice.<\/p>\n
He voiced support for a measure in front of Allentown City Council<\/a> that would establish procedures and timelines for evicting homeless camps.<\/p>\n Giving homeless residents more time and notice before evictions would let some find other options, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to worry about moving every so often; it doesn\u2019t help us because then we\u2019re concentrating on that and not concentrating on getting ourselves in a better situation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Second camp clearing<\/p>\n Tuerk on Thursday called the imminent eviction \u201can extension of the previous cleanup,\u201d in which crews bulldozed a homeless camp about a mile north along the same creek.<\/p>\n The mayor in early August ordered people living in an encampment near the Jordan Creek to vacate in less than three weeks. He cited an analysis by the Allentown Fire Department that showed the area to be a significant flood risk.<\/p>\n