Clairborne: You can’t outlaw homelessness and the city should find a way to improve living conditions without burdening taxpayers

“My thing with the Jungle is you can’t outlaw homelessness, so even if we were to evict people out of there, which was the big scare there for a while, they’re going to go somewhere. These are people who, for whatever reason, don’t have a place to go, so they’re going to go somewhere. If you talk to the folks — like I went down and talked to some of the folks there — one of the things that really stuck out from our whole conversation was, “We want to be left alone, and can we have a spicket for fresh water?” That’s really their biggest things, so we have to figure out how is it that, if we’re going to allow the Jungle to exist — because it’s been there for decades — how are we able to do that and provide for the people who are there in a way that’s meaningful, and taxpayers don’t feel like they’re being burdened by the folks there?”

“That may mean talking to the state and figuring out if we can declare that a mini-campground, so people can actually pitch tents and build structures there. And if we get clearance to build structures, I say we teach the people who live there how to build such things and how to build their own housing. Then that becomes how they pay their way there, so it’s not just what people see as free living. And it’s definitely not free living — you spend a winter outside in Ithaca. Some of the things that are happening right now with the Homeless and Housing Task Force, it’s a collaboration between a bunch of different human services agencies and county entities really trying to sit down and figure out what we do about homelessness in the City of Ithaca, including the Jungle.”

Kelly: Let’s bring city services to Jungle residents instead of forcing them out of their community

“The Jungle is an interesting problem that’s complicated by the fact that it’s not all city land. The railroad owns the right of way there. There are enormous safety issues because the way the fencing is built means emergency vehicles can’t get access down there. If they have to go down there and there’s a fire or something, they can’t get in. Those are problems that need to be addressed. People have been living rough down there probably for 100 years.”

“I said the other day that the only miracle is that the landmarks preservation people haven’t landmarked the whole place by now, but there are going to be people who chose to live rough. It’s true every place, and, as J.R. often says, you can’t outlaw homelessness.”

“What we need to do, and what I think is emerging here is a collaboration among the city, the county and the human services groups to figure out how to provide a place without creating the moral hazard of attracting people in. We need to provide basic community services of monitoring and access to help people who need it and are willing to accept it.”

“I know there was fear that the whole place is going to be bulldozed, and everybody’s going to be thrown out. I don’t think that’s going to happen. Minimally, I think we need to quite soon be providing a source of drinkable water down there and some kind of bathroom facilities. That’s within the ability of the city to do, but the really urgent problem is the access for emergency services to get in if they need to.”

Myrick: The city should seek assistance from health and human service agencies to improve living conditions in the Jungle

“We’re going to have to work with the health and human services agencies in the county as well as the American Red Cross to find a better alternative to the Jungle as it is right now. That could be a change in location or could be the same the location under new ownership, under new rules or new management. What we have right now is not ideal for the people who live down there, although they’ve lived down there for generations because they lack waste disposal mechanism, and it’s difficult for police and fire human safety workers to get access to them when they need help. like when some one’s having a medical emergency. It’s tough for the police and fire department to get in there and find the person that needs help. It’s not ideal for the city because we do carry liability for the fact that we’ve got folks living there, and it’s not ideal for the neighbors living near the Jungle who don’t always appreciate the fact that they do live near the Jungle. I don’t think the situation, as it is, is perfect. It shouldn’t be allowed to stand without improvements, amendments or good hard work between the city and the other agencies, but I don’t think at this time, it makes sense to simply evict the residents of the Jungle because we don’t have a better option for them.”

Wykstra: The homeless population needs to obey city laws, but should be allowed to live in the Jungle
“We should not throw them out of the Jungle. If that land is not being used for a higher purpose for the entire community, then they should be allowed to occupy it. However, they have to follow the law like any other citizen. There needs to be sanitary facilities there. I wouldn’t mind seeing a water supply running in there. They have to behave according to the law like anyone else. They may not have bonfires that send burning embers floating across State Street as I’ve seen before, so they have to behave like everyone else. But as long as that land is not needed for anything else, why should they not be there if that is how they wish to live and they can live within the law?”