DALLAS – Three days after the City of Dallas shut down a homeless tent encampment on the 500 block of N. Peak, there are piles of trash littering the site and trash is blowing into the street and around the neighborhood.
Neighbors are complaining about the mess the City left behind.
“It was an eyesore, really,” said Johnny Hall. He works next door to the trashed out lot.
There are piles of garbage left behind. There are heaps of old clothing, busted furniture, dirty bedding, broken wood, and the strong stench of human waste.
"About 3 days ago, about seven, eight, or 10 policemen came," a neighbor, Tommy Moreland said.
Moreland works at a business across the street from the lot. He says the homeless encampment had become a problem for weeks.
"They move them, and they just leave tons and tons of trash,” he explained.
Neighbors say at least 13 tents and more than 20 people were camping out on the property.
"Somebody needs to clean it up,” Hall demanded. “Clean all that trash and tents and stuff up.”
The area was one of the latest homeless tent encampments the City of Dallas shut down. Knowing more sites are popping up, some neighbors have concerns about the City’s processes.
"Since they moved them off from under I-45, they are just all over the place. South Dallas, North Dallas, East Dallas, West Dallas," Moreland explained.
Monday afternoon, a City of Dallas Code Compliance team showed up to the property to take photos of the area. As soon as a WFAA-TV photographer began taking video, the worker ran to the city truck and quickly drove off.
Neighbors say they just want the City to do a better job of cleaning up those sites that it's shutting down.
A staffer in Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Medrano’s office said the N. Peak encampment was on the City’s Community Service Division’s radar. They say for now, the lot is expected to be cleaned on or before March 22.