The Benches Went Walkabout and Never Returned

 

Gemini

Most benches installed in public areas today have an armrest in the middle to deter stray citizens from making like a cat. That apparently wasn't a problem when the last Court Street renovation was planned since none of the benches featured that hardware. By June 2021, when the alley behind Ricatoni's filled up, many of the city's unhoused were appropriating these older benches on South Court where foot traffic was not a major problem. Then police chief Ron Tyler decided to put a stop to it.

Tyler had six of these benches removed from their pavilions for "three to four weeks," stating the confiscation was purely temporary. Now four years later, the benches are still missing. 

A concerned citizen has asked where they are. Why have they not been returned after all this time? The area is home to both a popular pharmacy and veterans' affairs office. It would seem both endeavors would need this seating from time to time.

The homeless...there but for the absolute beneficence of God.