Real Change News | Westlake planter sends street youth packing

September 1, 2010
Vol: 17 No: 35

Short Takes

Westlake planter sends street youth packing

by: Julia Cechvala , Contributing Writer

Ricky (far left), Adam, and Ben, three of the homeless youth who used to congregate in front of the “stage” at Westlake Park. Since the placement of a flower planter the youth feel displaced from their long-term hang out.

Photo by: Katia Roberts , Contributing Photographer

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People walking by Westlake Park may notice something different. What they notice though, may just as likely be the absence of the crowd of street youth who used to hang out along one side of the raised platform known as “the stage,” as the addition of a new flower planter in the same location. The planter was installed at the beginning of August as part of the city’s Downtown Parks Renaissance program. A large group of street youth, however, have considered that particular square footage of cement “home” for the past six years. Now they feel rejected.

“This is pretty much to beautify the front so they don’t even see us,” says Adam “Gloves,” referring to the shoppers and security guards of the mall across the street. The youth all go by nicknames, and did not want last names used in order to preserve their privacy. They say all the youth, many who consider each other family, knew this location as the place to gather.

Joelle Hammerstad, Seattle Parks spokesperson, says the intention of the planter addition was to relieve congestion, not displace anyone. She says the space was often so crowded – the youth say as many as 40 people sometimes gathered to hang out, play hackysack, and skateboard – that the adjacent sidewalk lost its functionality.
The city also wanted to add a living touch to the concrete-heavy park. “We wanted to make the park a bit softer visually,” says Hammerstad.

Ricky, another youth who hung out on the stage, notes the city’s ordinance prohibiting sitting on the sidewalk, and says several benches have been removed from the park, further limiting seating options. Hammerstad says, though, that chairs and tables have been added to replace the benches’ seating area.

The back of the stage, facing into the park, is still open, but the youth still felt the need to find another place to congregate, and now gather a couple blocks away, on another concrete-dominated bit of public space. They’ve moved before to find places where they can come together and hang out, and say they’ll continue to do so. “It’s always a problem,” says Adam.

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