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Roosevelt neighborhood asks city for dedicated ranger, stricter enforcement at Hance Park
Summary
A Roosevelt neighborhood representative told a Phoenix budget hearing that Hance Park and surrounding blocks face chronic homelessness, drug use and vagrancy, and requested a dedicated park ranger and more consistent enforcement. The speaker said enforcement numbers were low and urged a 0‑tolerance approach for chronic violations.
A representative of the Roosevelt neighborhood told the District 6 budget hearing that Hance Park and nearby blocks face a persistent crisis of crime, drug use and encampments and urged city leaders to assign a dedicated park ranger and increase enforcement.
Speaking at the hearing, Bill Shiel (identified at the podium as representing the Roosevelt neighborhood) said Hance Park serves both as the neighborhood park and as a venue for major civic events but has chronic public-safety and quality-of-life problems. “For instance, 1 morning last week, we counted 57 individuals who are using the park as their living space,” Shiel said.
Shiel requested two actions: a dedicated park ranger assigned to Hance Park and more consistent, aggressive enforcement of existing park rules. He said episodic “drop bys” by park rangers leave chronic violators unchecked and cited enforcement metrics: “of all of the violations, and the chronic, problems we have, only 16, tickets were written last month.” He asked the city to implement a zero-tolerance policy for repeated violations in the park.
The speaker also acknowledged and thanked city departments for prior services related to cooling centers last summer and said the neighborhood supports continued coordination among human services, police and library staff. No formal enforcement changes or assignments were made at the hearing; the comments were entered as public input for staff and council consideration.
