Boards blocking hot air vents at city hall removed by anarchists — but quickly reinstalled, says city
Plywood hoarding blocking hot air vents at the back of Hamilton's city hall were temporarily removed by an anarchist group.
The boards were installed over the weekend in an attempt to cover the vents that blast warm air from inside the municipal headquarters and, therefore, prevent unhoused residents from huddling nearby in tents and sleeping bags.
In a previous interview with The Spectator, facilities director Rom D'Angelo said the city's goal was safety.
With too many people hunkered down at the back doors, which serve as an emergency exit, it became a fire code issue, D'Angelo said. Security footage also showed altercations and drug use among those who'd gathered there, D'Angelo added.
However, the removal of some of the hoarding was short-lived.
A post to the anarchist website North Shore Counter-Info on Wednesday showed photos of the plywood boards being removed by unknown people, after they were alerted to the situation by a news story.
The website post said those who removed the plywood found it despicable" that the access was blocked and questioned the city framing it as an issue of safety.
What about the safety of the people trying not to freeze to death?" the post said.
It's unclear how many people were involved in removing the boards.
We just quickly popped out, grabbed some buds, and went to see how easy it was to take down. Turns out, it's very easy," read the post, which noted it took all but four minutes for them to remove the screws and carry the boards away. If they put it back up tomorrow, you should go take it down too."
The Spectator reached out to the website but did not receive a response.
In an email to The Spectator, D'Angelo confirmed Wednesday that one plywood panel had been removed from the temporary hoarding.
Upon being made aware, the panel was reinstalled this afternoon," wrote D'Angelo on Wednesday.
D'Angelo said the city had also notified Hamilton police. Const. Krista-Lee Ernst confirmed the incident had been reported to police and is under investigation.
The hoarding was installed as shelters - either at or near capacity - continue to grapple with COVID outbreaks.
During cold alerts, when the temperature dips to -15 C or feels like -20 with the wind chill, the city opens some recreation centres as warming centres during the day and the Bennetto Recreation Centre overnight.
Two agencies that offer drop-in services, Wesley Day Centre and the Hub, are open into the evening and overnight, respectively.
Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com
Cold alerts
During a cold alert, Bennetto Recreation Centre at 450 Hughson St. N. is open from 5 p.m. until noon the following day as an overnight warming centre.
The city has also made available daytime warming centres, which are open from noon until 7 p.m.:
- Dominic Agostino Riverdale Community Centre, 150 Violet Dr.;
- Huntington Park Recreation Centre, 87 Brentwood Dr.;
- Norman Pinky Lewis Recreation Centre, 192 Wentworth St. N.;
- and Westmount Recreation Centre, 35 Lynbrook Dr.
The Hub at 78 Vine St. and Wesley Day Centre at 52 Catharine St. N. are also open with extended hours during a cold alert.
Members of the public can report the location of a person in need of shelter to the Salvation Army at 905-527-1444, ext. 0.