Logan Square Residents Express Frustration Over Homeless Encampment They Say Threatens Health, Safety
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Some people who live in Philadelphia's Logan Square neighborhood are expressing frustration over the homeless encampment on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. A mandatory order to close the site was postponed while Mayor Jim Kenney works to negotiate an amicable resolution with camp leaders.
The encampment of about 100 people grew out of protests for more affordable housing in Philadelphia.
Neighbors say their lives have been altered and they fear for their health and safety.
"We're seeing syringes left in parking lots, human waste, an uptick in trash. The residents that come out of the apartment houses are being harrassed by panhandlers," Dennis Boylan, the head of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, said.
Those living in the encampment say they would happily leave if the city solves the affordable housing crisis.
The city has not set a new deadline for the dismantling of the encampment.