There is a very serious and reoccurring problem throughout the city with the unhoused taking over and squatting in the city alleyways behind businesses and residential homes. All too often, city alley ways become magnets for crime resulting in repeated calls for service to the Albuquerque Police Department and to the Community Safety Department.
There currently exists 3 major options that the City, its residents and businesses have to deal with and to prevent the unhoused taking over and squatting in the city’s alley ways:
- Permanently closing off alleyways known to be problematic.
- Neighborhood beatification of alley ways increasing neighborhood use and security measures.
- Aggressive enforcement of existing state laws and city ordinances to prevent trespass and unauthorized outdoor camping.
This blog article is a discussion and update of all 3 options.
PERMANENT CLOSURE AND FENCING OFF ALLEYWAYS
The City of Albuquerque is in the process of implementing a program of permanently closing off alleyways known to be problematic resulting in high volumes of calls for service to the Albuquerque Police Department and to the Albquerquerqu Fire and Rescue Department. The problem alleyways have become magnets for crime for illegal activity such as open drug use and areas where large numbers of the homeless congregate.
Three alleyways have been identified in the South East Heights International District for closure by means of fencing. Those alley ways are:
- The alleyway behind the Circle K gas station on Central Avenue and San Pedro Drive in the International district
- The alleyway at Central Avenue and Louisiana Boulevard behind the KFC
- The Alleyway at California Street and Linn Avenue near the New Mexico State Fairgrounds.
The alleyway closure is part of a City plan being advocated by first term Progressive Democrat City Councilor Nichole Rogers to permanently close off known problem alleys to deal with the homelessness, drugs, and crime in the area. Rogers is hoping to have the same success at the 3 alleys in the International District as the closure of an alley at Lomas and Louisiana behind Buffets Candies.
City Councilor Rogers had this to say:
“There’s not one magic fix to any of these issues. … We’re dealing with lack of housing, lack of mental health resources, lack of substance abuse resources. There’s so many layers to this so this is just one idea—we have to try something! … [Closing alleyways] is something that we’ve done in other areas like behind Buffett’s Candies on Lomas and Louisiana and it had a huge effect on deterring crime in the area. … Am I for every alley being shut down or closed? No. But we have to do something because people are suffering. … And so we know, if we can beautify this alley, we can put lighting, we can do things like that it will also deter activity that people don’t want to do in the light.”
“I say to the critics, ‘roll up your sleeves and come help us figure out solutions,’ because we’re open to that. This is an all hands on deck crisis and we need to be thinking of it that way and we need to be thinking about it, how do we alleviate suffering? Regardless of why someone is suffering, if you’re unsheltered you’re suffering.”
Donna Buffett, one of the co-owners of the family owned business of Buffett’s Candies, said the alley behind their business’s fenced-in parking lot was a constant source of concern. Buffet said this:
“The [homeless] started using the fence; they would hang their tents on them, they were making campfires. We would come in the morning, there would be ten to 15 folks. They would have everything set up. … We were calling the fire department a couple times a week because once it started getting cold, they were building fires.”
The city permanently fenced off the alley in early May after Buffet’s spend thousands of dollars to install a high-end fence with an electric gate to close the business off after hours. Buffett said everything changed almost overnight because of the fencing. Buffett said this:
“They’re moving along and going to other places … I don’t think it’s completely solved the problem, but it has definitely alleviated the issues here. … I think [the fencing is] a great idea, I think it is helping the businesses in the area to lower the crime, to lower the loitering. All of the trash that’s left behind, the drug paraphernalia, I think it is making it cleaner. … I do still hope that the leadership of the city realizes that it is going to help that specific area but until the problem is dealt with at a higher level, it’s just moving folks on down the road.”
According to the city, the cost to install the high grade permanent fencing varies depending on the size of the alley. The cost varies from anywhere from between $30,000 to $90,000 depending on how wide and how big they area fenced off is. The money comes from capital outlay dollars set aside for public safety and community enhancement. The fencing allows only businesses and residents who use the alley access to it while keeping everyone else out.
Albuquerque Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Matthew Whelan confirmed the dramatic impact the closure of alleyway behind Buffett’s Candies had and he said this:
“[W]e’re expanding this program because … when we closed that alley and it went from Planning and Code Enforcement getting over 100 calls to around ten calls. We’re already spending resources in that area so we want to collaborate with [Councilor Rogers], so she’s using about $100,000 of her set-aside to close off three areas and we’re looking forward to seeing how it works out.”
Whelan said the city notifies people in these alleys before they close them and try to connect them with the city’s many resources. Whelan said this:
“We’re not just trying to push anybody anywhere. What we’re trying to do, address these people experiencing homelessness and give them the resources. Albuquerque has plenty of resources, we have the Westside Shelter, the Gateway Center will be opening soon. So we’re trying to get people enacted into that. But we’re also trying to address the neighborhoods to ensure safety so that everybody knows that one of the number one priorities of this administration is homelessness but it’s also addressing public safety.”
The link to the quoted and relied upon news story is here:
THE REVITALIZE SAN PEDRO PARTNERSHIP AND SAN PEDRO ALLEY INITIATIVE
The Revitalize San Pedro Partnership (RSPP) is a 501 (c) (3) charitable corporation that was incorporated effective January 1, 2024. It is a coalition of 4 neighborhoods bordering or to the north of the New Mexico State Fair grounds, The 4 neighborhoods are the Mark Twain Neighborhood, the Fair West Neighborhood, Alvarado Park neighborhood and Mile High neighborhood. The San Pedro Alley initiative is one of 5 alley projects in Bernalillo County with funding already in place.
The goal of the Revitalize San Pedro Partnership (RSPP) is to revitalize the San Pedro corridor from Central north all the way to I-40. One project is the San Pedro Alley initiative. Quarterly meetings are held to discuss projects. The San Pedro Alley Initiative represents neighborhood and business clean up and beatification of alley ways, including ongoing and scheduled clean ups and mural painting and increasing use of alleys for events such as neighborhood association meetings, social events and block parties.
The Revitalize San Pedro Partnership initiative works with the City, the County and State officials and find ways to improve and make more attractive the corridor. The group works with the UNM School of Architecture to come up with innovative ways to improve alleyways with designs. It also addresses what can be done to make alley use safer, including installation of surveillance cameras, lighting and fencing.
On July 17, the Revitalize San Pedro Partnership held a town hall focusing on the 3 major San Pedro Corridor alleys between Lomas and Constitution. The townhall meeting focused on reviewing concerns of residents and businesses adjacent to the alleys and to share examples of improvements to alleyways from other neighborhoods.
SURVEY OF BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS
The Revitalize San Pedro Partnership did a survey of businesses and residents along the 3 alleys that run parallel to San Pedro, NE, from Marble Street and Constitution. Feedback was received from both residents and business from both sides of the ally’s. The survey was revealing.
In general terms, residents and businesses said they do not feel safe in the alleys, many actively remove trash and weeds from the alleys themselves and assuming the cost. Those surveyed supported public safety measures such as better lighting, including solar lights with motion sensors and patrols by the Albuquerque Police Department and the Albuquerque Community Safety Department to deal with the homeless. The most popular beatification improvements supported are murals and landscaping.
Following are the results of the survey:
Those who took the survey were asked about alleyway use and they said this:
- 1% said they used the alleyways daily.
- 8% said they used the alleyways weekly.
- 5% said they used the alleyways monthly.
- 5% said they used the alleyways every 3 to 6 months.
- 1% said they never use the alleyways.
Those who took the survey were asked what was their primary reason for using the alleyway and those that responded said this:
- 8% said use was for access to business premises.
- 6% said to get access to their residence.
- 5% said used for recreational uses such as walking, jogging or dog walking.
- 1% said storage,
- 50% did not respond or said the alleyway was not used by them.
Activities observed and disclose by residents and businesses responding to the survey were:
- Littering and excessive trash (88%)
- Overnight camping (81%)
- Illegal dumping (75%)
- Graffiti (69%)
- Suspicious Activity (59%)
- Drug use or drug sales (56%)
- Campfires/fires set (47%)
- Speeding vehicles (38%)
- Personal Assaults, sexual activities, police presents responding (22%)
Those surveyed were asked if they feel safe using the alleyway behind their residences or business:
- 50% said no, they did not feel safe using the alley.
- 5% said they felt “somewhat safe”.
- 5% said they felt safe.
Actions listed as taken to improve the alleys for use and safety included “clearing weeds, removing trash and debris, calling APD or other enforcement agency or contacting the Albuquerque Fire and Rescue Department.”
Preventative or protective measures supported by residents and businesses in the survey were:
- More or better lighting (78%).
- Increase law enforcement (63%).
- Cameras (41%).
- Permission to construct higher barriers (34%).
- Locked gates (28%).
Those surveyed were asked what beautification improvements or amenities would they be interested in improving alleyways and the responses were as follows:
- Murals and landscaping (56%).
- Trash bins and permeable pavement (34%),
- Dog waste stations (22%).
- Rainwater collection (19%).
- Little library, benches, community garden (16%).
- Water stations (6%).
ALBUQUERQUE ORDINANCES AND STATE STATUTES
On June 28, the United State Supreme Court announced its ruling in the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson where the court held that local laws effectively criminalizing homelessness do not violate the U.S. Constitution and do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. The case challenged a municipality’s ability to bar people from sleeping or camping in public areas, such as sidewalks, parks and alleyways. The case came from the rural Oregon town of Grants Pass, which appealed a ruling striking down local ordinances that fined people $295 for sleeping outside after tents began crowding public parks.
The United States Supreme Court considered whether cities can enforce laws and take action against or punish the unhoused for sleeping outside in public spaces when shelter space is lacking. The case is the most significant case heard by the high court in decades on the rights of the unhoused and comes as a rising number of people in the United States are without a permanent place to live.
In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, the Supreme Court reversed a ruling by a San Francisco-based appeals court that found outdoor sleeping bans amount to “cruel and unusual punishment” under the United States Constitution. The majority found that the 8th Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment does not extend to bans on outdoor sleeping in public places such as parks and streets. The Supreme Court ruled that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outdoors in public spaces.
The City of Albuquerque and the New Mexico legislature have enacted laws that have the intent to prohibit trespassing and unauthorized camping on private and public open space. All the laws have been on the books for decades and are applicable and are enforced against all citizens and not just the unhoused. The specific statutes and ordinances are: NMSA 1978, Section 30-14-1 (1995), defining criminal trespass on public and private property.
- NMSA 1978, Section 30-14-4 (1969), defining wrongful use of property used for a public purpose and owned by the state, its subdivisions, and any religious, charitable, educational, or recreational association.
- Albuquerque City Ordinance 12-2-3, defining criminal trespass on public and private property.
- Albuquerque City Ordinance 8-2-7-13, prohibiting the placement of items on a sidewalk so as to restrict its free use by pedestrians.
- Albuquerque City Ordinance 10-1-1-10, prohibiting being in a park at nighttime when it is closed to public use.
- Albuquerque City Ordinance 12-2-7, prohibiting hindering persons passing along any street, sidewalk, or public way.
- Albuquerque City Ordinance 5-8-6, prohibiting camping on open space lands and regional preserves.
- Albuquerque City Ordinance 10-1-1-3, prohibiting the erection of structures in city parks.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Generally speaking, it is the adjoining property owners, city residents and businesses, that have the primary responsibility for the clean up and maintenance of existing alleyways even though the alleys are city and county rights of ways. The city and the county should commit far more financial resources for the regular clean up of alleyways, including regularly scheduled street sweeper dispatched to the alleys and assume the cost of regular clean ups. The city and the county should also assume the financial responsibility for the securing of alleys to include adequate lighting and surveillance cameras along with regularly scheduled law enforcement patrols. Such security measures would have a dramatic impact on curtailing and reducing crime.
The City’s program of fencing and closing off of alleyways as solution to homeless encampments and to eliminate magnets for crime and locations for the crimes of drug use, drug sales and prostitution is long overdue and taxpayer money well spent. The closure of alleyways can be easily prioritized by surveying APD calls for service and only those that have become chronic nuisances to homeowners and businesses should be fenced off and closed by the city.
The Revitalize San Pedro Partnership and the San Pedro Alley Initiative represent a viable alternative to closing and fencing off of alleys. Neighborhoods and businesses will become empowered and find new and additional uses of alleyways.
With the United State Supreme Court decision in the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson where the court held that local laws effectively criminalizing homelessness do not violate the U.S. Constitution and do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, the city should not have any reservations about enforcing the existing laws preventing and prohibiting unauthorized camping and trespassing in the city’s alleyways.
The 3 approaches of closing and fencing off alleyways that become magnets for crime, neighborhoods finding new and additional uses of alleyways and aggressive enforcement of existing laws combined can be characterized as “taking back our neighborhood” initiatives. All 3 approaches will have a direct impact on reducing crime in neighborhoods and preventing the homeless from taking over and camping in public rights of ways.
The link to a related news story is here:
Neighbors come together to make alleys cleaner and safer
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/neighbors-come-together-to-make-alleys-cleaner-and-safer/