Garden Place: Delinquents taking over?

Waikato radio personality Mark Bunting wants someone to take a lead in dealing with antisocial behaviour in Garden Place - and he has an idea about where to begin.

Sick of his fiancé being leered at and heckled as she walked to and from her office in Garden Place, the final straw came last week. "Kharyn had to step over a couple of pot smokers camped in the doorway with full-face balaclavas. I thought this is getting too much," said Mark.

The call isn't about "homeless bashing". He said the issue was about people being intimidated, not just by some of the vagrant population but also by groups of young people who hung out in Garden Place.

"People are quite tolerant of the homeless. They mostly keep to themselves. There are places these guys can go. There are lots of social service agencies and a lot of these guys are out there by choice.

"It's more the truant school kids [causing a problem]. You'd halve the problem if you sent the school kids back to school; and then you'd probably eradicate the problem if you sent the try-hards to try hard at something."

Mark's suggested solution is rather than Hamilton having parking wardens, there should be city ambassadors. "They could enforce parking but you could train them so they know where the bargains are, what's happening in the CBD, be fully first aid trained and give them the power to move people along.

"They need to be the happiest people in town. They have got a crappy job metering cars but their job is to keep things moving, rather than grabbing revenue.

"We need to nail that service mentality, because that's going to be our point of difference. People aren't going to come here for the geography. They're going to come here for the people experience.

"Hamilton people are good people because we're from, essentially, the farming sector. Hamilton is full of decent, community-minded people. We have to be famous for something - it's got to be our hospitality and our attitude."

Mark said he loved Garden Place but it was "being held back by some toe rags".

"Let's fill it up with something good, whether it's music or whatever. It's a natural venue.

"I have great hopes for it. You can walk through there and get a nice metropolitan feel.

"There must be plenty of people brave enough to do something about this - they just don't want to do it on their own."

Mark also questions why, despite the council prohibiting smoking in Garden Place last November, people continued to smoke there. "I've got nothing against smokers but council made it a non-smoking venue. We have one bylaw enforcer.

"That's about as toothless as the people of Hamilton will be in five years' time. But that's a whole new debate."

HURTING BUSINESSES

Business operators in Garden Place agree that there is a problem. Velo Espresso, a cycle sales and repair store, used to have a problem with the homeless using its tables and chairs. After winding up the cafe side of the business there is no longer that problem.

Harlem Soup Kitchen manager Julian Bryant said the business had an issue with teenagers hanging around the shop front when it was located opposite the library. Since it moved to the south side, near Victoria St, Harlem has "a different demographic of loiterers hanging around ... people hanging around smoking and drinking". Julian said their presence was off-putting and believes it affects trading.

Garden Place Dental practice manager Kathy asked that her surname be withheld for fear of retribution from the people she regularly moves on from the entrance to the clinic. She said the issue was at its worst around lunchtime and when it's cold and wet. "It's not so much the homeless. It's kids who should be at school or studying."

Kathy said the groups often smoked synthetic cannabis and their language was "disgusting". "You get read your pedigree. It's awful."

She suggested installing a kiosk in the centre of the area and staffing it with retired police officers and/or Maori wardens. She'd also like more regular police patrols.