Tag Archives: Seattle Parks Department

News

What Led to an Impending Hutchinson Park Overhaul: An Advocacy Story

by Ari Robin McKenna

Following an early afternoon shooting in October 2020, where almost 70 shots were fired and five people were hit with bullets on the dead-end street between Hutchinson Park and Emerson Elementary School, neighbors were on edge.

For some, it set the tone for the nervy pandemic months that followed, the violence echoing across Hutchinson Park and its playground. Community members in this slice of Rainier Beach pined for a playground and park that reflected their hopes for public, communal space to ease the isolation of the pandemic. The Hutchinson Playground is also the playground for Emerson Elementary School students and neighborhood children, a place for play and learning.

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City Expected Encampment on School District Property After Sweeping Nearby Park

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by Erica C. Barnett

(This article previously appeared on PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement)

During an often rowdy public forum in the cafeteria of Broadview-Thomson K-8 school last week, Seattle Public Schools Deputy Director Rob Gannon said the school district is working slowly toward a plan for moving more than 50 unsheltered people off school district-owned property behind the North Seattle school. The City of Seattle has refused to assist the school district in sheltering or housing people living on the property, and the district has turned to a small nonprofit called Anything Helps with the goal of getting everyone off the site by September.

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As Summer Approaches, Encampment Sweeps Ramp Up

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by Erica C. Barnett

(This article previously appeared on PubliCola and has been reprinted under an agreement.)

As summer approaches, the City has accelerated the pace of homeless encampment removals, which declined dramatically during the pandemic thanks in part to public health guidelines that cautioned against moving people from place to place.

But now that many people are vaccinated and students are returning to school, notices of impending encampment removals are starting to show up again in parks and other public spaces around the city. The Parks Department, which is in charge of removing most homeless encampments, will post notices like the one below at seven “high-priority” encampments this week. If people are still on site on the day of a posted removal, the department can remove their property, including tents and survival gear. The encampments are:

  • Madrona Park (Madrona)
  • Albert Davis Park (Lake City)
  • Second Avenue Extension (Pioneer Square)
  • Hubble Place/Convention Center (Downtown)
  • Amy Yee Tennis Center (Mt. Baker)
  • Broadway Hill Park (North Capitol Hill)
  • 8th Avenue and King Street (Pioneer Square)
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