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Homeless encampment in Midtown Plaza in Canton disbanded

Posted 9/24/24

CANTON - The growing congregation of homeless people who made the Midtown Plaza their home for the past several weeks have moved on.

Canton Police Chief James Santimaw said Tuesday morning that …

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Homeless encampment in Midtown Plaza in Canton disbanded

Posted

CANTON - The growing congregation of homeless people who made the Midtown Plaza their home for the past several weeks have moved on.

Canton Police Chief James Santimaw said Tuesday morning that the makeshift tenants have cleared with no incidents.

“We spoke with them earlier this week and told them the building was not safe. There was zero coercion,” Santimaw stated.

The police chief noted that some of the homeless men have family in the area but it’s unknown where many of them will relocate.

The area in the plaza is still littered with odds and ends which the village Department of Public Works will soon remove. A fence will be installed around that area for safety purposes.

The 19 Miner Street property now has signage in place saying “No Loitering” and “No Trespassing.”

One homeless man was seen sleeping Tuesday morning in front of the Yoga Loft in the former Aubuchon building, 21 Miner St., that is private property.

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

“They began moving out Monday afternoon and they did it on their own,” Dalton stated. “We made offers of help and provided them with resources.”

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

“We were getting lots of complaints from the community worried about safety,” he added.

A drive through the property last week showed 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.

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.