The problem of homelessness is complex, but this is a public health issue, because of the constant creation of garbage. We have even found human excrement in the dog park, and smelled it from the encampment areas.

This has been a popular homeless spot for many years (5+ at least). I know police do try to scout the area but resources are limited.

There were at least three people camping out in the park this morning, right IN the dog park, around 9:00am. One guy laying down on one of the benches, and a couple spread out on one of the tables. If people want to feel comfortable using the park, this needs to be policed. It shouldn't be up to regular citizens to have to run people off in order to use the park.

I was willing to live an let live but the inhabitants of the area behind the fence are migrating back into the park. New Haven's official policy is that homeless encampments in public parks are illegal. That's why we fund shelters. Park visitors who spot campers should report them immediately to the police.The area behind the fence is highly contaminated and should be razed.

Right, whenever we see that, we have to call the police.

i have seen at least one gentleman that throws bottles and cans over the fence so needless to say he is also intoxicated and urinates in the park on trees and the fence on more than one occasion. there is a sign that states if you don't have a dog you are not permitted in the park.

The dog park is too important to the whole downtown and Wooster Square neighborhood to ignore this issue.

acknowledged

What city agency will clean up this mess? We already cleaned up the area behind the larger dog park once, but this is really just too much to expect citizen volunteers to do it. What department will take charge?

Very encouraging to see the PD manager for downtown posting on here. Thank you.

OMG! Dogs are living better than people in New Haven...

Maybe now that we have a new mayor who used to lead homeless services in New Haven, the police can actually come out and LOOK at this, and see if someone is actively living here or not.

Thank you for contributing to this constructive dialogue and helping to improve our community. Given this requests age and the lack of additional steps to take at this juncture we are closing this issue. If a similar issue arises going forward please make sure to reach out directly to the New Haven Police by calling the non-emergency number at (203)946-6136 or, in the event of emergency, dialing 911. Please remember that reporting criminal activity on SeeClickFix should not be done in absence of filing a police report, which is the best procedure to initiate police investigation as opposed to informing the community of a concern in your area. Thank you.