from Twitter
Last night a new encampment for unhoused people was started outside Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) HQ in North Philly. Since early this AM, PHA has had work crews out erecting heavy duty fencing as private PHA police officers stand guard.
The only police presence we’ve seen here is maybe a dozen police officers.
While their uniforms seem deliberately crafted to mimic official Philly PD uniforms, PHA PD is in fact a private police department with significant differences in jurisdiction and authority.
This laminated eviction letter from PHA was recently delivered to unhoused residents of the new encampment. PHA has drawn criticism for leaving thousands of PHA-owned homes vacant, instead of using them to house the homeless.
A camp resident gave us a quick rundown on the current situation with the new encampment by PHA HQ and recent interactions with PHA private police:
Situation semi calm as some contractor work crews take breaks while others continue to put in heavy fencing in one grass lot by PHA HQ parking lot.
This officer from housing authority’s private police force is currently having a smoke
Ongoing standoff here at empty grass lot outside PHA HQ in North Philadelphia. Residents of new unhoused tent encampment say they won’t comply with housing authority demands to vacate the empty property.
PHA police playing a dramatized game of footsie with some people who keep removing fencing poles
More housing authority police arriving and tension w camp residents growing as PHA cops and contractors seem eager to put fencing poles into spots occupied by camp residents and supporters. Still no actual Philly PD officers here that we’ve seen.
More PHA police and contractors still arriving. @PhilaHsgAuthPHA seems quite intent on fencing off the vacant lots by their HQ ASAP after some unhoused Philadelphians set up camp here yesterday. More supporters of the camp are arriving as well
PHA contractors were seen loading some of the fencing poles into this van before driving off – unclear if some work is being paused/delayed or just being done around the corner where camp residents/supporters aren’t currently gathered.
PHA workers continue to install new heavy-duty poles for new security fence as PHA police (and angry residents of the new tent camp) watch closely
Hard to estimate the considerable expense @PhilaHsgAuthPHA is going to in order to try to fence off the area of the new unhoused tent encampment. Dozens of vehicles and workers/contractors active here this morning.
PHA workers operating power tools quite close to encampment supporters who are sitting on the pre-existing wooden fence in this empty grass lot by PHA HQ
At least 6 PHA police cruisers just on this corner of the newly occupied lot. (2 more out of frame just to the right here)
This empty PHA-owned grass lot has also served as a dog park for residents of nearby homes. Prseumably, once PHA’s new anti-homeless security fence is up, nobody will be able to use this land at all.
More moment of near-confrontation between PHA and new camp residents and their supporters. Most backed off after this moment and agreed to let PHA workers work after they assured camp residents they could still access the grass area
Supporters of the new houseless encampment by @PhilaHsgAuthPHA HQ in North Philly brought a sound system, the situation here is now turning partially into a protest rally visible from passing traffic on Ridge Ave.
Things are still semi-calm yet agitated here by PHA HQ. People are now generally letting workers put up fencing poles after the work crew lead promised people they wouldn’t be locked out of the lot. Both camp residents/supporters and workers have accused each other of harassment.
PHA may be declining to take more action against people gathered on this empty lot today since there were no signs posted in the area. We haven’t heard anyone get verbally trespassed here either. CDC coronavirus guidelines would also seem to recommend against evicting this camp.
Still seems like some goodwill is being built between the worker crew’s lead/foreman and some of the unhoused camp residents – unclear if this is happening in good faith or an attempt to buy time and pacify resistance to PHA security efforts.
When we arrived a few hours ago, PHA cops and work crews seemed evenly matched with the number of camp residents present, w a few dozen people each. With more people continuing to arrive in support it seems like upwards of 50-60 people are here on behalf of the encampment now.
Jennifer Bennetch from Occupy PHA speaks about the history of PHA as a force of gentrification and blight in North Philly
Other residents of the houseless encampment, as well as people from neighborhoods near PHA HQ, also speak about why this PHA-owned vacant lot is being occupied by people needing housing
Some of the security fencing poles have been removed, and various construction debris placed to obstruct fence post spots. Maybe over 100 houseless camp residents & supporters here at occupied empty lot by @PhilaHsgAuthPHA HQ
PHA workers putting poles back in place and remove debris only to have it placed back where they removed it from.
PHA fence poles getting taken out of ground as soon as they’re replaced.
PHA subcontractors told “They’re not paying you enough to keep putting this back in the ground.”
PHA (subcontractor?) work lead in gray complains “they’re pulling all the poles out of the ground now”
More PHA cops circled back to this part of the lot as the fence pole situation heats up. PHA workers and police being asked to leave by residents and supporters of the new tent camp
Tent poles got removed again, pole holes getting filled back up with soil and rocks
Residents and supporters of the new tent camp at empty lot by PHA HQ have now formed a line in front of the PHA subcontractors and PHA police:
Some (not all) people moved off of the barricade line by the fence pole contest zone after seeing a PHA contractor bulldozer was moving around behind them, on the grassier side of the lot near where people have set up tents to live in.
We saw one Philly Police (as opposed to PHA housing authority police) cruiser pass by a few hours ago. As of now (1:30 PM) seems like PHA’s Police dept is the only law enforcement active here at the scene by intersection Jefferson & Ridge.
Currently unclear if PHA contracted workers will try to keep expanding this fence to the left here (crowd is blocking them just to left of this frame).
Update: PHA contractor workers have either started taking a break or paused fence work in the area shown in last clip. They seem more frustrated now but things still generally calm and de-escalated on both sides here
The pole holes from one of the earlier back-and-forth with the fence posts have been filled in further w dirt and debris as time has gone on
Pizza is getting handed out now after someone ordered several large pies delivered to the encampment
PHA construction vehicle was digging post holes on other side of lot (closer to the tents) and eventually drove off after people started filling all the post holes back up. We saw PHA worker continue to operate this equipment when people were standing near/on/touching its bucket
More confrontational moments as PHA tried to keep installing fencing as people kept taking fence poles out of the fresh concrete. Construction vehicles still operating dangerously close to protesters.
Again, this PHA work all started overnight after the homeless camp appeared.
[Video Here]
PHA contractors stopped working with the fence posts and concrete mixer in this back part of the lot after residents and supporters from the new homeless encampment were dismantling their work faster than they could keep up with.
We saw >6 fenceposts get pulled up & taken away.
Things are suddenly the quietest they’ve been here all day at the new tent camp by PHA HQ. Seems like PHA contractors may have been told to call it a day.
Most or all PHA police (1-2 dozen maybe) are still here but seems like most of all of the workers have left.
Update: Some Philly PD (as opposed to PHA police) have arrived on site. At least one PPD Civil Affairs officer now here speaking with PHA police and contractors
Philly PD civil affairs arrived to speak with people, all they really had to say was a reiteration of the eviction letter already delivered by PHA after the homeless camp went up.
Philadelphia Police Civil Affairs refused to answer our question about why they aren’t following @PhillyMayor’s new mandatory masking order to protect Philadelphians during the coronavirus pandemic.
Seems like most actual Philadelphia police just left the scene after arriving to try to deliver another copy of PHA’s eviction notice to the camp. Just PHA police remaining now as far as we can see
More barricades continue to go up around the new homeless encampment outside Philadelphia Housing Authority HQ in North Philly. A few cops in area still monitoring but unclear what’s going to happen. Seems like only a coordinated mass police operation could remove people…
Earlier today before PHA’s work crews left the area of the new camp, we saw several concerning safety incidents happen. In this clip from a few hours ago, a worker was continuing to operate dangerous construction equipment as protesters were in physical contact with his equipment
When we reported on #NoDAPL protests in North Dakota, pipeline workers, even when quite hostile to protesters, almost always immediately ceased work when anyone set foot on a work site. Philadelphia Housing Authority contractors did not apply this same level of caution today.
A PHA supervisor eventually had this worker stop using this machine too close to people, after observing several near-miss potential injury incidents. Similar incidents like this with a bulldozer near the concrete mixer would recurr after this incident as well.
Again, the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s vigorous push for all this new construction today only happened on short notice today/last night after a homeless encampment with tents went up on the vacant, unused PHA-owned lot across from PHA HQ in Ridge Ave.
A lot more barricades have gone up at the new encampment for unhoused ppl outside @PhilaHsgAuthPHA HQ in the last few hours
Demands listed on fence outside the camp by PHA HQ: turn vacant PHA-owned properties into low-income housing, stop PHA selling homes to private entities, require city employees and police to respect the homeless, repeal urban camping bans, sanction homeless camps and tiny homes
Barricade construction is very much an ongoing activity into the night here at new encampment by @PhilaHsgAuthPHA HQ
