JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — Four days after the City of Jamestown declared a State of Emergency for 300 unauthorized campers across the city, the scenes look virtually the same.
Mattresses and syringe casings still line the encampments where hundreds of people are living, as the small Western New York city has said it doesn’t have the resources to address the issue without Chautauqua County’s help.
The ongoing problem was a hot topic at Monday night’s city council meeting where residents called for action. Many were in support of the city offering resources to those living in the encampments.
“If we pride ourselves on being a Christian nation, or a Christian community, then our priorities for the homeless neighbors must be equal,” one resident said.
“I went this afternoon down to the encampment, and I met Angela, who's been sleeping down there for about two weeks,” another resident added. “I just want to reiterate that they're humans. They're people.”
In a release sent Thursday night, the city details a litany of issues resulting from the situation, including health and safety concerns, environmental impacts, and security issues.
Some of those issues include:
- Discarded needles and human waste
- Litter attracting rodents, roaches, and other pests
- Fires at vacant and condemned properties
- Illegal fires
- Strain on city departments, including Police, Fire, Public Works, and Parks
Jamestown’s Mayor Kim Ecklund, who was in attendance Monday night, did meet with Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel and his team Monday morning for the first time since declaring the State of Emergency.
A source familiar with the meeting tells 2 On Your Side that they are diligently working to try to identify how the county can help and plan to continue to meet with the city on the issue moving forward.
2 On Your Side has made numerous attempts to speak with the mayor and the county executive about the matter but has not yet been able to schedule an interview.