More homeless camps cleared in New Orleans before Taylor Swift | Local politics

State police continued to clear homeless encampments in downtown New Orleans from Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, moving residents to a specific location ahead of Taylor Swift's weekend concerts.

Despite criticism from local officials and homeless residents, officers made their way down Claiborne Avenue Wednesday evening, lights flashing, transporting people and their belongings from small encampments between Gravier Street and Poydras Street where about 20 people lived, into an increasingly narrow area below the US 90 overpass near South Robertson Street.

Police will continue to relocate people there from other parts of the city, including the French Quarter, said state police spokeswoman Kate Stegall — even as local officials raise alarms about the lack of basic necessities such as trash cans and portable toilets at designated camp sites. Stegall declined to say when and where additional searches would take place and what resources or services, if any, the state planned to provide at the new location.

It was also unclear how long the state would direct people to the construction site and whether their work would end as soon as the mega concerts ended on Sunday.

State police and state wildlife officers began work Wednesday morning as officers assembled a block-long encampment starting at Calliope Street and Loyola Avenue. Soldiers and crews helped people load their belongings onto trucks and directed them to a smaller section of the camp near Calliope and South Robertson roads.

After strong opposition from local officials and homeless service providers, NOLA force commander Rodney Hyatt said soldiers decided not to completely close the camp, which was home to about 75 people. A state police spokesman said troopers tried to “minimize disruption while addressing safety concerns.” Living under government bridges is illegal, she added.

But local officials on Thursday continued to call on the Landry administration to halt the relocations, saying the moves complicate a broader effort to house New Orleans' homeless population by 2025.

In a statement, Council Member Lesli Harris, whose district includes many downtown homeless encampments, wrote that “the inhumane approach has already undone months of progress in building trust between homeless people and outreach providers.”

She wrote that officials received no notification of Wednesday night's raids and that people who were relocated reported that their belongings were “illegally disposed of.”

Officials have repeatedly raised concerns in recent days that people are not choosing to live in closer proximity at the designated encampment and are instead dispersing, making it harder for case managers to keep track of who needs housing. In her statement, Harris noted that her office has already received reports of “new tent communities in neighborhood areas.”

Nathaniel Fields, the city's homeless services director, said the city does not have the resources to ensure the safety of people at the state-sanctioned encampment.

“We're putting people in this camp … and we're not meeting basic needs,” he said. “There are no port-a-lets, no food, no services…We already didn't have the resources, we certainly don't have the resources to keep people in one place.”

In September, Field's office requested $6 million from the state to support the city's efforts to provide subsidized housing for people living outside. This request was not granted.

Representatives for Landry and state police did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the New Orleans Police Department said, “NOPD has no role in this operation and is not involved in any capacity.”

Stay tuned for more on this story.