ST. LOUIS — City workers cleared the encampment of a homeless couple at a Tower Grove South intersection Thursday morning.
The couple had lived under a makeshift tent made of tarps at the intersection of Chippewa Street and Spring Avenue for at least three years, said nearby resident Toni Figuerroa.
“It was an all-around hazard,†Figuerroa said from her front porch. “Goodbye and good riddance.â€
The homeless couple had moved around the area for eight to 10 years, said Conner Kerrigan, a spokesman for Mayor Tishaura Jones. The city decided to finally clear the encampment because it posed a public safety and health hazard, he said.
“The encampment had grown in recent weeks,†Kerrigan said.
In February, two homeowners who live at the intersection sued the city to demand it remove the couple.
People are also reading…
Steven McClanahan and Richard Baumhoff have said the couple was aggressive and screamed at them, and they could smell excrement because the couple used the storm sewer as a toilet. There have been confrontations between the homeowners and couple too.
A man who answered the door at the house declined to comment. The homeowners’ attorney, W. Bevis Schock, could not be immediately reached for comment.
City workers started clearing the encampment around 9 a.m., and it was gone a few hours later.
The fire department arrived around 11 a.m. to wash grime off the sidewalk.
The city is offering services to the homeless couple, Kerrigan said. Officials had tried offering shelter to the couple for years, but they refused. The city has also tried moving the couple, but they just moved down the street.