The Tuesday meeting between the DIB board and homeless advocate Michael Kimberl and his attorney fell apart when Kimberl’s attorney got tied up in court and the board refused to wait. Fortunately, Kimberl’s court date has moved, giving the two sides time to still meet.
Meanwhile, the Downtown Deterioration Board continues to push for a boycott of the businesses associated with the board members. The feeling among their supporters is Pensacola and its leaders care more about image and branding than people. The business listed on the group’s Instagram that are being boycotted are:
Atlas
Five Sisters
Fish House
The Dog House Deli
Jackson’s
Angelina’s
O’Riley’s
Fosko
Pure Barre
Ride Society
Alfresco Tex Mex
aDoor Properties
Bay Lumber Trading Co.
Sir Richard’s
Mugs & Jugs
The Downtown Deterioration Board is also calling for a protest at the Gallery Night scheduled for Friday, Aug. 19:
“We’re inviting everyone to protest at Gallery Night. We want to make what’s ‘under the surface’ of elite Pensacola known and impossible to hide from. We want people beyond this account to understand what’s going on and that people care.
“We want to disrupt the fiction of progress that Pensacola spends all our resources trying to uphold.”
Among the list of requests attached to the boycott of the DIB are that the charges against any activist assisting the homeless be dropped; that a free ADA-accessible public restroom facility be provided downtown; that the city of Pensacola return benches to MLK Plaza; that Escambia County return tables and benches to the downtown public library; to stop the “community policing” of the downtown homeless community; and a stop to any effort to criminalize panhandling.
At some point, the politicians need to get engaged. Where are Mayor Grover Robinson, Councilwoman Ann Hill (downtown is in her district), Councilman Casey Jones and Commissioner Robert Bender (both are ex-officio members of DIB board)? Maybe it will take Commissioner Lumon May to weigh in.
Meanwhile, Inweekly has paid for an ADA-accessible port-a-potty on North Palafox that is available 24/7.