Rantz: Seattle playfield overrun by fentanyl-smoking homeless, city hasn’t swept it

A Seattle man says his neighborhood playfield has been plagued by a growing homeless encampment, filled with broken down RVs, drug dealers, and drug-addicted homeless people who smoke fentanyl out in the open. And he complains the city hasn’t intervened.

“I’ve seen open-air drug use and drug selling. Just this past week, they constructed a drug tent right in front of the women’s bathroom in the Georgetown Playfield, and were actively smoking inside of the entryway so people can’t even get to the bathroom,” Greg, a longtime resident of Georgetown, explained exclusively to “The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.”

If it’s not the drug abuse, it’s the broken down RVs that are camped out in spots around the playfield, despite the city’s 72-hour parking limitation.

Greg, who is a former city worker, said the homeless are “crowding the parking spaces, leaving their trash all around the entrance of the parks where kids play.” He said it’s “infuriating” that the city isn’t handling the encampment.

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Are concerns around the Seattle playfield being blown off?

While he’s reached out to the city, Greg says he’s basically being given the runaround. He’s told to file reports about the encampment via the city’s “Find It, Fix It” app, but that hasn’t generally led to encampment removals.

“The problem is there’s 200 other encampments that they’re trying to deal with a limited staff, so I get an auto-response every time I file an issue,” Greg said.

“I used to enjoy walking my dog, and get some exercise around the park. But now it’s just a bummer. You see these people suffering, they’re really mentally ill, and they’re addicted to drugs. Their behavior, it affects everyone around them, every place they go… we’re not solving a problem,” Greg complains of the city’s lack of plan.

City of Seattle is “closely monitoring” the encampment

A spokesperson for the city says they are “closely monitoring” the encampment and it’s on the prioritization list for “resolution” by the Unified Care Team (UCT).

“UCT prioritizes and addresses sites in collaboration with the Seattle Police Department and other partners based on the level of public impact and available shelter resources,” the spokesperson explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “SPD is also aware of the site and responsive to public safety concerns.”

The UCT is also “proactively removing trash and hazards from the site each week in an attempt to minimize public impact while the necessary shelter resources become available.” But Greg hasn’t seen much of a difference.

In any case, he’s hoping for some practical plans to address the homeless problem across Seattle.

“I view this as being just basic. Enforce the law and have these people be held accountable for their actions. And a lot of my friends who have gotten clean from drugs and alcohol, a lot of them were arrested and they were put in jail for a night. And nine times out of 10, they went through the path of sobriety after that because they had to take responsibility for what they’re doing and breaking the laws. We don’t have that anymore,” he said.

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