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Rise and shine, the homeless of Rittenhouse Square

It's 6 a.m. in Rittenhouse Square in Center City -- one of Philadelphia's most exclusive neighborhoods. As the sun rises over the leafy green park, its overnight summer residents -- nearly two dozen homeless men and women - are asleep on benches.

Rittenhouse Square is a summertime magnet for the homeless. On a recent morning, nearly two dozen homeless were asleep on benches. (Sarah J. Glover / Inquirer)
Rittenhouse Square is a summertime magnet for the homeless. On a recent morning, nearly two dozen homeless were asleep on benches. (Sarah J. Glover / Inquirer)Read more

It's 6 a.m. in Rittenhouse Square in Center City -- one of Philadelphia's most exclusive neighborhoods. As the sun rises over the leafy green park, its overnight summer residents -- nearly two dozen homeless men and women - are asleep on benches.

Along one row of benches at the northeast corner of the square, six men are lined up one after the other - some covered by dirty blankets, others simply rolled over on their side. Further down on the south side of the park is a man with a cast on his leg, his crutches propped up against the bench he's sleeping on.

"It's free air. There's a breeze. It's better out here," said a still groggy Chris Coleman, a 41- year old homeless man from West Philadelphia, who was using his unlaced sneakers and socks as a pillow to rest his head.

"It's quiet. There's no hassle, no screaming, no one being ripped off. It's better than Love Park. Over there they just drink, do drugs. You have two cops over there that harass people, but not here," said Juan Gomez, 42, who said he's been on the streets since 1983.

During the summer months, the number of homeless bunking overnight in Ritenhouse Square can swell to 60 - making it an outdoor makeshift motel.

And while the homeless say they like the comforts of the high-end neighborhood, the Rittenhouse Square residents, managers of nearby businesses, and Fairmount Park Commission employees who maintain the grounds complain that that the homeless and the resulting problems have gotten worse this summer, making their jobs and neighborhood life more difficult.

The groundskeepers say they have a new summer task -- the morning wakeup call.

Saul Cabrera was working with a leaf blower in the park, waiting for the noise of his machine to roust the homeless.

"We're like the alarm clock. We have to clean on the floor, under the benches. They get angry and don't want to move," said Cabrera, a city maintenance worker from Puerto Rico who spoke in Spanish.

Elijah Mauldin, a Fairmount Park Commission maintenance worker, said he regularly picks up human waste from the homeless near a shed on the west side of the park.

The Rittenhouse Square City Institute branch of the Free Library estimates that 25 percent of its patrons are homeless, with an influx using the library services during the heat of the summer months to take advantage of the air conditioning and restrooms.

"A number of the homeless people know the staff and they know what the rules are," said Julie Doty, an administrative librarian for the center city branches.

David Benton, general manager of the Rittenhouse Hotel that overlooks the square, said guests often complain about the homeless.

"They like to take their children to the square, take their dogs for a walk and wonder why there are so many homeless people on Rittenhouse Square. It really makes an impact on their visit here," Benton said.

"This year is definitely worse because I walk to most of my meetings and I walk through the park because it's so pleasant, and you see more around," he added.

Sister Mary Scullion, co-founder of Project HOME, a local nonprofit that works with the homeless, said warm summer weather pushes the homeless out of the shelters and into locations such as Rittenhouse Square.

"The shelters are pretty crowded right now and you can understand why someone in the summer months would pick Rittenhouse Square instead of a shelter. . .I definitely think the economy has had an effect on the number of people experiencing homelessness. The cost of utilities, gas, costs rising and people at the bottom just can't afford it," she said.

This summer-- as in years past - the number of homeless people sleeping on Philadelphia's streets and parks tends to rise, however, city officials saw these numbers decline this spring and hope for a general decline this summer.

In a late-May Spring census the number of homeless sleeping on Center City streets was 261 compared to 429 during the same period last year, said Dainette Mintz, director of the city's Office of Supportive Housing.

Mintz said that before the city begins to take more agressive action to get the homeless out of the parks and off the streets it must first provide housing. She said Mayor Nutter in late May announced plans to build 400 new housing units for the homeless.

"Our belief is when you have a real conversation with homeless consumers is that people want to live some place. People will name housing before needing to get clean. We do understand that shelter is not the answer to folks who have been and out of shelters," Mintz said.

Paul Levy, president of the Center City District, acknowledged the fine line the city must walk in enforcing laws while respecting rights of the homeless to sleep in the park.

"When is someone exercising their right to do what they want? Not an easy question to answer," Levy said.

As to how local residents feel about the problem of homelessness in Rittenhouse Square, Levy said, "The reactions run the full range of human reaction. Some are angry about nothing being done about it. Some are upset about citations they get when homeless go through their trash."

Members of the neighborhood non-profit association, Friends of Rittenhouse Square, which raises funds to aid in the upkeep of the park, began an aggressive campaign last winter to install armrests in the middle of a number of park benches as a way to reduce the number of people who sleep on them.

According to Jennifer Reynolds, a spokeswoman for the Friends of Rittenhouse Square, the armrests serve one purpose: "To discourage the use of the bench as a bed."

While representatives for the organization were out of town and could not be reached for comment, the public relations firm for the group e-mailed a statement by Mayor Nutter which appeared in the group's Fall 2007 newsletter Around the Square that read, in part, "Rittenhouse Square should be known as one of the premier parks in the country. . .We have to make sure we're using humane treatment while being firm that sleeping in the Square is not acceptable. "

On a recent week day morning, sentiments were mixed among neighborhood residents over the right of the park's homeless to spend the night there.

Molly Church, walking her dog early one morning in the square, said: "For the most part, it doesn't bother me. Most of them are sleeping in the morning and don't pose that much of a threat to me personally. It's public space. They have as much right to be sleeping there as I do to walk my dog here."

Patrols by police and other agencies were deemed "inadequate" by another resident.

"In previous years, they used to bring a cop car and go through early in the morning.. and that hasn't been occurring at all anymore," said Garret VanErk as he walked his two dogs. "And then a cop used to make a sweep and ask people to move on. I think the people who should be targeted are the ones that are creating a public nuisance."

While some seem to be taking notice of the park's homeless and aren't happy about it, Sister Mary Scullion of Project H.O.M.E believes that the more people who take notice of the problem and realize that it is unacceptable, the closer we come to finding a solution.

"It's certainly not going to be easy but it's possible in our country. We can figure this out...When people are given better choices, they make them. What kind of society are we when we can find a billion dollars to house art on the parkway when we can't even house our own people?" Scullion said.