A homeless encampment has appeared along the route Mayor Zohran Mamdani takes near City Hall, highlighting the limits of New York City’s current sidewalk-sweeps policy.
Mark Roggemann has occupied roughly 200 square feet of Centre Street sidewalk across from the Brooklyn Bridge entrance for about six weeks. The location is only steps from City Hall, and he has taken advantage of rules that require the city to go through an extended outreach process before removing people from public walkways.
Roggemann has built a makeshift setup around a plywood bed, adding an aluminum clothing rack, artificial potted plants, a rolling bin he says contains hot and cold water, and Amazon delivery totes for storage. During rain, he covers the area with a cream-colored plastic tarp.
His camp sits at the center of New York’s Civic Center, across from the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building, which houses city agencies and offices associated with elected officials including City Comptroller Mark Levine and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Roggemann said he did not select Centre Street to draw the mayor’s attention. Still, he told The Post that he was surprised no one from Mamdani’s team had stopped by, even out of curiosity.
“I guess there’s concern [that] if they have any interaction with me at all, then it sets a precedent,” Roggemann, 50, said during an interview Wednesday. “If you want to speak to the mayor — come camp out in front of City Hall, which, like, sounds like a horrible plan, but with a mayor like Mamdani, that may not be the worst idea.”
“I’m just sitting here waiting to see who stops by,” he added.
Under the city’s current approach to homeless encampments, Roggemann is unlikely to be removed immediately.
Rather than forcibly clearing people from sidewalks at once, city social workers generally carry out a seven-day engagement process before attempting a cleanup or relocation.
The Department of Homeless Services issued Roggemann a “Notice of New York City Clean Up” on Nov. 6, directing him to leave the area by Friday.
On Thursday, Roggemann moved his belongings about 35 yards north along Centre Street, keeping the camp within sight of City Hall and closer to the city Department of Education’s headquarters at the Tweed Courthouse.
He said he understood that city workers would not be able to remove him after such a short move, a claim that appeared to be borne out Friday.
Roggemann said that if the city issues another cleanup notice for his new location, the process would begin again. He added that he intends to return to his original spot before then.
“This is the idiocracy we live in right now,” said Councilwoman Joann Ariola, a Queens Republican whose district includes several neighborhoods affected by homeless encampments.
“A 35-yard move is all it takes to reset the city’s clock. He could just keep going in a circle, moving a few feet every week, and the city won’t do a thing about it thanks to the current rules. This is lunacy.”
Ariola said the encampment is especially troubling because it greets drivers, cyclists and pedestrians entering Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge.
“This camp is basically a billboard saying, ‘Welcome to Mamdani’s Manhattan, where every street is becoming skid row,’” Ariola said.
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Tourists taking in the Brooklyn Bridge’s views said they were surprised by the city’s hands-off response.
“We have our own homeless problem in Seattle . . . but even our politicians wouldn’t let people stay so long next to our City Hall,” said Robert Lawrence, 30, who was visiting from Seattle.
“Considering he’s right in their faces, you’d think that someone associated with the mayor would do a better job trying to get this guy help and convince him to leave.”
Roggemann said he differs from many of the nearly 5,000 people estimated to be living on New York City streets because he has access to a taxpayer-funded apartment in Brooklyn through the Department of Homeless Services.
He claimed the apartment was in such poor and overheated condition that he left most of his belongings there in July and moved to the Manhattan streets with his two dogs, Sir and Mage.
Roggemann said he believed inadequate air conditioning in the building contributed to the deaths of two dogs owned by an upstairs neighbor.
Roggemann, who describes himself as an artist, initially lived about two miles north in Union Square Park. Over the years, he said, he sold abstract finger paintings to passersby and promoted them on social media. Sources said authorities eventually removed him because living in city parks is prohibited.
When he arrived in the Civic Center near City Hall six weeks ago, Roggemann first set up in the middle of the Centre Street pedestrian walkway, near several popular food trucks.
Food vendors soon persuaded him to move about 30 yards north because his location was affecting their business.
“He was scaring away customers, but he’s a good guy and needs help,” one vendor said. “We’re the only ones feeding and taking care of this guy. He sweeps for us, and we give him cigarettes, ice cream and food.”
During a 15-minute interview with The Post on Wednesday, Roggemann smoked a Newport and said his dispute was not with Mamdani but with the Department of Homeless Services, which he accused of corruption and harassment.
“I’m just some random dude living near a park . . . This is not an encampment,” Roggemann said. “There is no structural integrity. There is no roof. Everything basically goes on wheels and is moveable. They call it an encampment to try and do some cleanups.”
The Mayor’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
The Department of Homeless Services declined to discuss Roggemann’s presence near City Hall. In a statement, the agency said, “This administration is focused on connecting homeless New Yorkers to shelter, medical care and the services they need to move into permanent, stable housing.”
Marie Colon, a Bronx resident who works at a nearby grocery store and regularly passes Roggemann, said his situation illustrated “just how flawed the system is.”
“I feel bad for this guy,” she said. “You can offer him help, but if he’s not accepting, [city workers] need to get him to safety and help him. Having him move for a cleanup and then return doesn’t help.”
