D.C. is planning to remove a campsite used by homeless people in the NoMa neighborhood for good.
The decision about the encampment on K Street Northeast was announced through signs placed on the street last weekend.
The orange signs made it clear that the sidewalks were “pedestrian passageways” and that “all property blocking this sidewalk is subject to immediate removal and disposal.
Attention! Washington DC officially and undoubtedly is criminalizing homelessness: K street NE underpass in NoMa soon to be a “no tent zone”. Any items stored on K street after 1/16 will be immediately thrown away. There are 40 tents, where do you expect them to go?! More to come pic.twitter.com/J29NzxxkPd
— Aaron the Anthropologist (@Anarchopology) January 6, 2020
The move stemmed from potential dangers to pedestrians using K Street posed by the huge number of tents that are occupying the narrow sidewalks. It is not expected to affect other homeless sites near the area on L and M streets.
The NoMa Business Improvement District released an open letter in recent months, stating that it has been receiving so many complaints regarding the homeless encampments.
According to the letter, the tents in the area has become a safety issue for people traveling along K Street NE for various reasons such as “used and bloody hypodermic needles, rotting food, broken glass, prostitution and drug dealing.”