Chicago Crews Dismantle Remaining Tents from Homeless Encampment in Gompers Park, North Park Neighborhood

CHICAGO (WLS) — City crews were at a Northwest Side park Monday clearing out the last tents set up at a homeless encampment.

The city’s decision to clear the encampment at Gompers Park, situated at Pulaski Road and Bryn Mawr Avenue, didn’t come as a surprise. This action had previously been postponed at least once.

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Most individuals living there three months ago when officials initially notified them of the impending move have since been relocated to either private apartments or temporary shelters as they await the availability of permanent housing.

Crews began clearing the area right around 9:30 a.m.

By noon, it was empty.

While a few tents remain at the site, Chicago Park District Superintendent Carlos Ramírez-Rosa notes that many individuals were using the tents primarily for storage. Nonetheless, he acknowledges that some were still residing there, and the city is assisting them in relocating to other areas within the park as construction is set to begin on a long-awaited nature play space.

Lagoon restoration work and resurfacing of the parking lot will also take place.

RELATED: Chicago holding ‘Accelerated Moving Event’ Wednesday for those living in Gompers Park

“We’ve said, ‘look, if you’re not going to accept the shelter or the housing that we’re offering, you can stay in the park, but you can’t stay in the area where we are going to start the construction work.’ As long as people are in the park, we’re going to work to connect them with housing resources and shelter. But, we are also committed to working forward. It’s this project here,” Ramírez-Rosa said.

The Department of Family and Support Services held what it called an accelerated moving event, as well.

“At the time, there were 28 people living in the park. All 28 people were offered a home, an apartment. The vast majority of people accepted that option. And a number of them today are in an apartment. That is a success story,” Ramírez-Rosa said.

Not everyone is happy about how the whole process has been handled by the city. Outreach crews, who have been working with the unhoused from the beginning, said police have been harassing those living there.

They said the two designated spots within the park for those still there to move to are not adequate.

It’s not clear, however, how many people exactly were still actually living there as of Monday morning.

The encampment has led to rising tensions between those living within it and residents who use the park for recreational activity.

Last month, the city removed a line of tents that had been set up along a fence line in Little Gompers, directly in front of a baseball diamond used by one of the leagues, which for a time had to move elsewhere, despite recently completed upgrades.

The league is back as of April 21.

“What we’re most concerned about is being able to provide a baseball and softball league for the youth of Gompers park in a safe way. There had been safety concerns. We’ve talked about the fires and the drug use and the harassment that was happening,” said JJ Betts, with the Gompers Park Athletic Association.

For those who have been working with the unhoused here from the start, the city’s approach to relocating the encampment’s residents has been flawed from the beginning.

“Even on the morning of the accelerated moving event, when a number of people got signed up for housing, that morning cops showed up at 4:30 a.m. to threaten people and tell people their tents were going to be thrown out, and they had to be out. And a lot of people were afraid to even go to their appointments to get housing,” said Adam Gianforte, with 39th Ward Neighbors United.

Not all of those who lived in Gompers Park have been completely relocated.

Already, a handful of tents have popped up across the street, in an area designated by the city for those who wish to remain in the park.

In a statement Monday, the park district said: “Today, May 12th, the Park District began construction on the southeast end of Gompers Park, including the lagoon between the tennis courts and the basketball court, the parking lot and the open space around the parking lot and basketball court. Residents were asked to relocate to another area of the park by Sunday, May 11th to allow construction to begin today. The Park District will continue to work with DFSS and other service organizations to connect residents with resources including housing.”