11 June 8th–June 14th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | Month XX–Month XX, 2014 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | “may not be sufficient to conclude that there have been any violations at all.” The ACLU asked Snow to intervene before the May 31 sweep, but he declined. The judge did agree to hold an evidentiary hearing on the matter, which would allow ACLU attorneys to present their evidence against the city. “We’re really excited that Judge Snow is going to give us an opportunity to fully present our evidence to demonstrate our clients’ belief that what the city did on May 10 doesn’t comport with his order and doesn’t comport with the constitution,” Benjamin Rundall, senior staff attorney with the ACLU, told Phoenix New Times after the hearing. ‘They just kept turning their backs’ As city workers swept up what remained of the dozen or so campsites on May 31, Marylou Martinez approached the police line and asked for some of her belongings that she said she had left in the area. At around 8 a.m., Martinez said that she was living in a tent on the block, and New Times witnessed her leave some of her belongings beside a tent in the area. Later in the afternoon, she told New Times that she believed that some of her belongings had been thrown away while she was away from the area. A few of her things remained scattered on the ground and were returned to her — but not all of her possessions, Martinez said. In an email, city spokesperson Kristin Couturier claimed that Martinez “does not reside in today’s engagement area.” “The City does not throw away personal property without first storing the property and providing an opportunity for the owner to retrieve the property,” Couturier continued. “The City stored the limited amount of unattended property found today. The property associated with each campsite from today’s engagement is accounted for.” Some 679 people currently live in the Zone, according to April data collected by social services agencies, although that number has previously been estimated to be much higher. As of May 18, the four major shelters in the city of Phoenix — Washington Relief Center, the Respiro sprung structure, Rio Fresco Shelter and Central Arizona Shelter Services — had only 48 beds available. For years, partly due to the shelter bed shortage, the city has allowed people to live in the Zone. Zone resident Tracy Swanson told New Times she was looking for a shelter bed — but so far had been unable to find one. Swanson has been living for the past few months in a tent just south of the cleared block. “We’re waiting anxiously here,” Swanson said, noting that she has a heart condition that is increasingly difficult to manage in the heat and is living with her partner, who also has health complications. “It’s getting worse,” she added. Swanson added that she was hopeful she would find indoor housing and was happy for those who managed to get shelter beds. “We’re trying all different kinds of avenues,” she said. Hall still had few answers about when the city might have enough shelter beds available for Swanson and the hundreds of others living in the Zone. “If everybody [in the Zone] was to stand up and say ‘shelter now,’ yes, we’d be in an absolute crisis,” he said. “But that’s why we’re going at the pace we’re going because we continue to stand up new shelter.” Hall said that the next sweep will take place in “about three weeks.” When the city will clear out the entire encampment, though, remains unclear. Faith Kearns, an activist and a plaintiff in the ACLU lawsuit, watched city staff clear out the block. Kearns was formerly unsheltered and now organizes with the Fund for Empowerment. She said she was frustrated by the city’s inaction before the latest lawsuits. “The city has known for years that there’s been a problem,” Kearns said. “And they just kept turning their backs, turning their backs. And look what’s happened.” Katya Schwenk Security patrolled the area as the sweep got underway on May 31. Police Raid from p 9