GREENFIELD — Almost a year after Mayor Ginny Desorgher decided to remove the park benches and chess table at the end of Miles Street — a choice that supporters saw as a public safety measure and opponents viewed as an anti-homeless infrastructure change — a bench will soon return to the area.
Police Chief Todd Dodge said the bench will be repositioned roughly 6 feet from where it used to be, farther down the slope into the pocket park area, and it will face the park, rather than the street. He explained that the bench’s initial removal was an effort to maintain order on the sidewalk after residents reported disturbances from drug use and people who lingered at the sidewalk-facing structures.
“Parks are places that we maintain and build for recreation. Sidewalks are made to walk downtown and access businesses and things of that nature. By virtue of where the benches were located previously, there was a lot of recreation taking place directly on the sidewalk, which caused a problem for people trying to navigate the sidewalks. It was intimidating,” Dodge said. “I’ve been accused of being anti-homeless. It has nothing to do with that. It was simply about trying to maintain orderly walkways. After a great deal of discussion amongst various individuals in the city, it was agreed that the bench will be returned.”
The cluster of benches and a chess table at the end of Miles Street abutting the Main Street sidewalk was installed in 2021 as a pocket park through volunteer work and a $23,000 AARP Community Challenge grant. Since the benches were removed from the area, residents have been seen setting up their own folding chairs along the perimeter of the pocket park.
The bench, which Desorgher said is likely to be returned to the pocket park in the next few weeks, will serve as a “compromise” between the city and members of the public who voiced their disappointment with the removal.
At a City Council meeting last September, Desorgher referred to the bench removal as the “the hardest decision that [she’s] had to make” in her then-nine-month tenure as mayor. She said she did not take the matter lightly, but amid growth in the city’s homeless population, there had been an uptick in drug overdoses, illegal activity and arrests in that area.
While some councilors, such as At-Large Councilor Wahab Minhas, applauded the decision, others, such as Precinct 5 Councilor Marianne Bullock, called the bench removal a “terrible idea,” arguing that drug addiction is not localized to the area, but throughout the community.
Depending on how successful the park bench relocation effort is, Desorgher added that additional benches and the chess table might also be returned. As the city recently installed public ashtrays along the Greenfield Common and in front of City Hall, she said she expects to put more cigarette receptacles in the pocket park to mitigate littering.
“The sidewalks just needed to be passable. That’s sort of an accessibility issue — people need to be able to pass on the sidewalk,” Desorgher said. “We’re going to do things in stages, and I think it’s going to work out beautifully.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.