good luck...

Thank our lovely mayor for this. She refuses to adress and deal with the issue professionally. All she is focused on is rebuilding the waterfront and turning beautiful Salem into another liberal mecca.

The homeless urinating in Riley Plaza has nothing to do with beautifying the waterfront or creating a progressive city we can all be proud of.

It absolutley does. Shes turned a blind eye to the problem and refuses to deal with it. Other than the shelter, where else can they go? Nowhere. The homeless flock here because NOTHING IS DONE. There are no consequences. You're proud to live here, in a liberal/progressive city that refuses to deal with actual issues?

Can we have someone from the Mayor's office respond here?

Not only is the Flag Park area destroyed, take a walk around downtown. Beggars holding cardboard signs. Human waste in the alleyways. Unwashed sleeping on the benches. Thursday-Saturday night drunks roaming the pedestrian mall disturbing the peace. Welcome to our sanctuary city.

WHEN will the city government take action to remedy this situation??? The city is quickly becoming deplorable.

Pedestrian P: In your snarky "Welcome to our sanctuary city," you're conflating homeless people with immigrants. Two very different groups. I agree with you about the beggars and the unwashed sleeping on benches--it's unsightly and unsanitary--but they are being attracted by the Homeless Shelter. Immigrants are the ones working three jobs (that no one else will do). If you are not Native American, then you, too are from an immigrant family.

Joanne, do you know all the beggars and unwashed directly? Do you know all the immigrants working, as you say, 3 jobs? Don't direct your ignorant statements at me, as this is not what this forum is for. If you don't like or agree with what I post then keep it to yourself and move on.

The shelter is in the worst possible place. Maybe it should relocate before all the residents do!

Paul: This is a discussion forum. If you don't want a response to your comments, you are in the wrong group.

Wrong Joanne. It is SeeClickFix. It is an outlet to report problems that you see or know of. Your comments to me are neither.

This may be a place to report, but read these comments. They're discussion.
You're welcome to the last word, Paul. I'm, not wasting any more time with you.

I guess the back and forth here indicate what a serious issue this is.The odd thing is that the new park on New Derby and the harbor walk way only flame the fire.

Something needs to be done. I get harassed by these people every time I go to Steves or the post office. It happened a bit ago, again. These people have zero remorse or guilt. They literally walk up to anyone they think will give them money or food and argue when their demands aren't met.

The lack of response from the city or from the councilors who have responded to other issues on this site is outrageous. Do your jobs. Taxpayers are footing the bill.

Notice how we only see the City Councilors when they're campaigning?

Did you see it this weekend? They put up these 'no loitering' signs...which were quickly ignored and the police are doing nothing. The Mayor wants them here. We bought a house outside of Salem because of this. Taking our tax dollars elsewhere. It got embarrassing having friends/family come to visit and try to walk downtown, especially past Riley Plaza and then getting harassed for money FOUR TIMES downtown. No thank you. The shelter should be out away, like on Highland Ave up by the old Puleo's or something like that. It is paradise for them here, with the quick access to a liquor store, walkability and access to people downtown, etc. If they had to actually pay to take a bus to get there, it would clear up quite a bit. Having it right downtown in the center of a very nice plaza is horrible. Tried to visit Salem this wkd and saw the conflagration at the Plaza and then went to the Commons. Homeless there taking up benches, being loud and drinking from brown paper bags, etc. No thanks, you can have it. It really is a shame, as Salem could be so pretty.

Pretty sad. I went for a walk to CVS Saturday afternoon and was confronted three times and asked for money. That was over a 50 yard distance. Even having to pass the ones sitting on benches, with their cardboard signs, is enough to make me not want to be around downtown.

I agree, but none of this matters because the Mayor loves it and will take no action. We have friends who have also moved away from Salem because of the deteriorating situation. The Mayor does not seem to understand that the residents matter, not just the tourists. You watch though....in October, suddenly the homeless will start to be far less apparent. She will have the police move them away so that the tourists do not have to see what the city has become. 4 families that we know moved away, so that is 5 families no longer paying property tax, excise tax, paying into local businesses, etc. The homes may get filled up but as the cycle continues, Salem will start to feel the impact.

I wish someone from the Mayor's office would comment, because the Homeless Shelter problem is not as simple as you may think. Our Greater Endicott Street Neighborhood Association mobilized to lobby against the shelter adding two additional floors to the existing building. There were numerous meetings with the city, and we were successful in preventing the additional floors from being built, but there are some issues that the city can do nothing about. This is where it would be helpful for a Mayor's office representative to explain why.

What issues can the city do nothing about? A couple of years ago the police went to Forest River Park and told some kids they could not play baseball on the field without a permit. Today in addition to our taxes we have to pay to enter a number of city parks. My point is the city CAN do whatever they want. No loitering signs should allow them to stop people from gathering at the flagpole so why don't they do that? They have been very clear about loitering at the witch memorial on Proctor st.so why the double standard?

Welcome to "SeeClickNothingFixed".

The beggar with a sign sitting on the fountain wall in front of Rockafella's is a nice touch for the tourists to see.

The problem is that this is basically ignored by the Mayor. You need to call her office, put in complaints. You will get stonewalled of course as she does not take calls from the 'lowly taxpayers'. You will be directed to talk to the 'Community Outreach' team with the police who will then tell you there is no homeless problem, you are just prejudiced. They have more rights than the people actually paying taxes and working, contributing to the workforce. But, maybe....if everyone starts calling her office repeatedly, she will take notice.

That won't achieve anything. Welcome to "SeeClickNothingFixed".

Thanks for your feedback. Please always feel free to call the Salem Police at 978-744-1212 if you ever feel uncomfortable or threatened, and if you are in an emergency, do not use SeeClickFix to report an issue – instead, call 9-1-1 or, for non-emergency police requests, 978-744-1212. SeeClickFix is not monitored outside of regular City office hours.

The City has posted "No Loitering" signs in this location, which enables the City to move individuals along from the property and, in the most egregious situations, request no trespass orders through the courts. While the Salem Police Department has increased patrol frequency in the downtown, it is still always the most helpful for those who see people loitering in this location to call the police at 978-744-1212 to report the situation. Do not use SeeClickFix to request police services.

On the broader question of homelessness, the City is working in partnership with Lifebridge, Harbor Light Community Partners, Healthy Streets, and North Shore Community Health to try to more pro-actively address issues of homelessness in Salem. It is certainly a challenging issue, and while anecdotal accounts can often be striking, encouraging progress is being made with a focus on housing first, a monthly review by caseworkers and police of high-risk homeless individuals, and planning for the potential launch of a day program that would help provide individuals in need of a place to go during the day.

Thank you again for your feedback about this on-going issue and, again, we strongly encourage you to call the Salem Police at 978-744-1212 and not use SeeClickFix to report issues such as these.

Hahahaha

This issue has been marked as a duplicate of issue 3775896.

Issue 3775896 has already been closed and archived.
Please follow the link to view details on the resolution
of issue 3775896.