Residents, advocates press Bethlehem leaders over notices and services at riverside encampments

Dozens of residents and homeless-justice advocates used public comment at a Bethlehem City Council meeting to press officials about recent notices placed on tents at encampments near the Greenway and Mincey Trail and to demand clearer communication and more services.

Speakers described seeing bright orange notices saying tents must be removed by April 3 and a separate vehicle tag placed on a tent; that combination, several speakers said, created fear among people living there and prompted questions about whether a sweep was imminent. “Please remove your tent, belongings and trash from Bethlehem city property ... tents are not permitted on city property,” a poster quoted during the meeting read, citing Bethlehem city ordinance 9-41-02(a)(4). Several attendees said the notice language and short timeline were alarming to encampment residents.

The concern drew repeated calls for the city to reopen public restrooms and to coordinate cleanup help. Valerie Noonan, a neighborhood advocate, told council members the notices had been posted at least 48 hours earlier and said at least one tent carried language and a handwritten warning that residents interpreted as an instruction to leave. Regina Padilla, a South Bethlehem native, urged the council to consider the disruption displacement would cause and to prioritize long-term solutions such as affordable housing and mental-health supports.

City officials described existing outreach and avenues for help. Bene Berger, director of nursing in the city’s Community Connections program at the Bethlehem Health Bureau, said community-connections nurses and social workers work with police and partner nonprofits and conduct weekly outreach to people in the encampments. “We are out there every week with our community partners,” Berger said. “We can offer to connect. We can even have the services available. We can go back repeatedly ... to encourage some of our folks to take advantage of some of the things we can connect them with. We can't force people to take services.”

Berger and other staff said the city does try to balance sanitation concerns with voluntary engagement. Council members and members of the public asked for clearer advance notice when officials post removal or abandoned-property warnings, and for a designated liaison or communications channel so residents and volunteers know whether notices indicate an imminent sweep or an administrative cleanup of abandoned, hazardous material.

Several speakers offered to organize volunteer cleanups — including a proposed Earth Day effort — and to cover cleaning costs to reopen some public restrooms if the city would unlock facilities and provide basic maintenance. City staff said some parks and standalone restrooms (including Sand Island and the North Street parking garage restrooms) are seasonal or maintained through other agencies and that winterization schedules or maintenance needs can affect availability.

Council members and the administration urged residents to contact Community Connections or the Bethlehem Police Department when they see safety or health concerns, and to reach out to council members if communication breaks down. Several council members said they had already been contacted about the notices and had checked with administration and police prior to the meeting. Council President asked administration to follow up with more precise explanations of the notices and to consider clearer language and longer notice periods when possible.

The meeting included no formal council action on encampments that night. Council members said they will continue to press for improved communications, more coordinated outreach, and longer-term shelter and housing solutions being developed in partnership with Bethlehem Emergency Shelter and other providers.