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Albuquerque activist: Rummler's 'conduct is deplorable and should not be tolerated from any city employee'
Public Safety

Albuquerque activist: Rummler's 'conduct is deplorable and should not be tolerated from any city employee'

An Albuquerque resident who spoke to City Council aide Laura Rummler in late July said she was dismayed by the way she was spoken to by the city employee.


Albuquerque resident: 'How much money has been flushed down the toilet in the last five years putting Band Aids on the vagrant situation?'
Public Safety

Albuquerque resident: 'How much money has been flushed down the toilet in the last five years putting Band Aids on the vagrant situation?'

Safe outdoor spaces became legal in Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city July 28, and the Albuquerque City Council ultimately added the safe outdoor spaces as a new use in the city’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO).


Albuquerque's closing homeless of encampment at Coronado Park is 'monumental in the shift of what it means for that area'
Public Safety

Albuquerque's closing homeless of encampment at Coronado Park is 'monumental in the shift of what it means for that area'

Mayor Tim Keller recently announced the city is closing down Coronado Park to get rid of the homeless encampments that have overtaken the area, according to KOAT 7 News.


Mayor’s office quiet on suspending 'safe outdoor spaces' homeless plan
Public Safety

Mayor’s office quiet on suspending 'safe outdoor spaces' homeless plan

Neither Mayor Tim Keller’s office nor the city’s Planning Department responded to a request from the New Mexico Sun on the possible suspension of applications for safe outdoor spaces (SOS), tent encampments for the homeless approved by City Council on a 5-4 vote on June 6.


Community organizer: City council aide 'called me a Nazi'
Public Safety

Community organizer: City council aide 'called me a Nazi'

In a recent phone call about Albuquerque’s acute homelessness problem, an aide to city council member Tammy Fieblekorn essentially called long-time community organizer, activist and policy analyst Valere McFarland a Nazi who wants to "put the homeless into concentration camps," McFarland said.


Mayor Tim Keller should suspend the permitting process for ‘safe outdoor spaces’ until the City Council has time to act
Public Safety

Mayor Tim Keller should suspend the permitting process for ‘safe outdoor spaces’ until the City Council has time to act

On July 19, the New Mexico Sun broke the story that applications for “safe outdoor spaces” have been filed with the city Planning Department and that private funding is being sought for at least 6 encampments.


Funding for proposed homeless camps 'up in the air'
Public Safety

Funding for proposed homeless camps 'up in the air'

The backers of a controversial plan to establish tent sites for the city’s widespread and growing homeless problem have yet to secure a funding source to underwrite the “safe outdoor spaces” plan


Presbyterian Hospital on ‘Safe Outdoor Spaces’ zoning code: 'We would like to understand more about the proposal before weighing in on this idea'
Public Safety

Presbyterian Hospital on ‘Safe Outdoor Spaces’ zoning code: 'We would like to understand more about the proposal before weighing in on this idea'

The June 6 Albuquerque City Council meeting saw tensions rise between proponents of public homeless encampments and private property owners.


Sonntag: 'It's ridiculous that the mayor is now asking businesses to foot the bill for police protection'
Public Safety

Sonntag: 'It's ridiculous that the mayor is now asking businesses to foot the bill for police protection'

Mayor Tim Keller recently announced a new plan to curb crime in Albuquerque’s downtown area.


Bassan seeks repeal of Safe Outdoor Spaces legislation: ‘It is definitely something that will take a lot more work’
Public Safety

Bassan seeks repeal of Safe Outdoor Spaces legislation: ‘It is definitely something that will take a lot more work’

Albuquerque has experienced an increasing rate of homelessness recently, and many residents are upset that the homeless population is encroaching on residential neighborhoods.


NM attorney Dinelli: City response to homeless encampments is ‘so very wrong on so many levels’
Public Safety

NM attorney Dinelli: City response to homeless encampments is ‘so very wrong on so many levels’

A group of downtown Albuquerque residents is pressing city officials for help after homeless people set up an encampment next to their homes.


Keller on Coronado Park violence: 'This problem will not get any better' without city zoning changes
Public Safety

Keller on Coronado Park violence: 'This problem will not get any better' without city zoning changes

It’s a problem that is proving difficult to solve, and it’s getting more dangerous by the moment.


Albuquerque city councilor: 'I am determined to rid our beautiful city of these homeless encampments'
Public Safety

Albuquerque city councilor: 'I am determined to rid our beautiful city of these homeless encampments'

A proposal to cancel the planned expansion of homeless camps in Albuquerque failed a procedural hurdle at the June 22 City Council meeting.


'Majority of citizens do not want these encampments': Activist group protests city's sanctioned homelessness camps
Public Safety

'Majority of citizens do not want these encampments': Activist group protests city's sanctioned homelessness camps

Neighborhood safety advocates gathered Tuesday to protest an Albuquerque policy that allows the expansion of sanctioned homeless camps, like those in Coronado Park, to as many as 18 locations across the city.