Volunteers, residents press Manchester to lock cemetery gates and increase patrols amid litter, drug use reports
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Summary
Multiple residents and volunteers reported vandalism, needles, human feces and drug use at Valley Street and Pine Street cemeteries and asked the board for more frequent patrols or nightly gate closures. Aldermen asked public safety and parks staff for an expedited plan and a presentation at an upcoming meeting.
Volunteers and neighborhood residents told the Board of Mayor and Aldermen they are dismayed at increased drug use, human waste and vandalism in Manchester’s historic cemeteries and asked the city to step up patrols and security.
Valley Cemetery volunteers said they routinely clean headstones and maintain the site but have encountered needles, human feces and people using drugs on chapel steps and paths. “We don't see the rangers anymore,” volunteer Julia Siders said. “There's piles and piles of feces and toilet paper.”
Callie Rojas reported that chains and locks at Pine Street Cemetery had been cut and that increased foot traffic brought trash and needles. “It's now creating so much more foot traffic, continuous trash, needles, human feces,” she told the board, and said volunteers had pictures documenting conditions.
Several aldermen expressed urgency. Alderman Sapienza urged parks and police to present a plan quickly; Mayor Rouay and others said they would contact department heads immediately to propose concrete steps, including enhanced patrolling and options for locking gates at night while preserving emergency access. One alderman warned that locking gates must be balanced with emergency vehicle access.
The board asked staff to develop immediate remediation measures and to return with a presentation, with at least initial actions to be taken before the next full board meeting.