CANTON - The growing congregation of homeless people who have made the Midtown Plaza their home will soon be removed from the 19 Miner Street property.

Canton Mayor Michael Dalton has been dealing with the situation for several weeks, trying to handle it as carefully and diligently as possible.

Dalton said he and members of the village board have received several inquiries from the public regarding the matter.

A drive through the property shows a couple of tents in place with bags of clothes strewn about, disabled bicycles, and carts filled with miscellaneous items.

“We are working on getting them to move on, but since it's Village property it's a bit complicated. The police are well aware of the people involved and all of them refuse any help offered. Social Services are done with them because they won't follow program rules. They also aren't interested in the shelter in Ogdensburg,” the mayor noted in a prepared statement.

The mayor said Friday morning the village now has signage in place in all village parks indicating “closed after dark” and “no camping.” No loitering and no trespassing signs will also be visible within the confines of the 19 Miner Street property.

“With the proper signage in place we will be getting them to move on soon,” Dalton stated.

It’s only been recently that this makeshift community has become visible to the general public. For some time now, a contingent of homeless people have allegedly been living in areas throughout the village.

“The Board has heard plenty about 19 Miner but most people don't know that these people have mostly remained hidden from view until now. Several property owners have refused to kick them out. We also think someone has been in the woods between the BIRP and Atlantic testing. Rumor even had one living under the Main Street bridge a few years ago,” Dalton said.

Dalton also noted that the entire building is scheduled to be torn down but it's been slow going because of the terms of the grant, and the time it takes the State to answer our inquiries.