Some Bangor residents are pushing back against plans to clear out the city's largest homeless encampment.
Last month, the city set a deadline of Dec. 19 to sweep the group located near Penobscot Plaza on Washington Street. But at a city council meeting yesterday, residents including Jim Moore, spoke out against the plan, and said it will do more harm than good.
"In the absence of providing an actual place for those folks who are encamped along the tracks, along the river, I think it would be inhumane and cruel to force them out, because I've seen what happened in the past," he said.
Moore and others emphasized that past sweeps haven't addressed the root issues, and just scatter people across the city. And they said that's particularly dangerous now as the area is experiencing an HIV outbreak.
Bangor resident Luke Sekera-Flanders said the city is once again creating a deadline to move an encampment before deciding on a clear plan for the people involved, just as it did a year ago.
"And this timeline we're on is, it puts us on a collision course and we're bound to repeat the same mistakes that have cost the lives of our dear community members, so please, I urge you, at the very least give us more time," he said.
Councilors will discuss the issue further at committee meetings this coming Monday.
