ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A local woman claims she can’t enjoy the park across the street from her home due to a repeated disturbance.

She says sometimes she can’t even throw her trash out because a group of people have taken over the dumpster. 

KOB 4 went to the park and saw for ourselves what she says she’s been dealing with for years. 

“They’ve been here since Memorial Day weekend, so it’s just been an ongoing thing,” said a concerned neighbor. 

A neighbor who lives by the Jack and Jill Park in southeast Albuquerque says this is what the park has looked like since then. 

“Ever since they closed down, I think the alley a couple of blocks away, there’s just been too many homeless people at this park. Me and my roommate can’t even take our kids to the park, so it’s just, it’s just been bad,” said the neighbor. 

The neighbor says she’s called the city to complain multiple times. Last Saturday something was done, and we got video of city workers clearing out the camp. 

Fast-forward to this past Friday, the encampments popped up again. We interviewed one unhoused woman who says she fell on hard times before landing at the park. 

“People are very harsh here towards the homeless, and that’s that breaks my heart. It really does. But I can see their point of view in that, and they just got to remember, you know, that not everybody is out here because they choose to be here,” said Michelle Gubanche. 

Gubanche says people pick parks for the shade, and the city cleared out her camp. She also says she has been fighting to get her housing voucher back. 

“They came, and city managers, waste management, totally threw everything away, almost like I got away with my tent, and that was about it. I was in the middle of packing up and everything when I came and just totally threw everything away,” said Gubanche. 

We reached out to the city about the park. The city’s Solid Waste Management Director Billy Gallegos said, “Within the past week, City crews have been out twice to Jack and Jill Park to address encampments, offering services and having campers move. We will continue to address the cleanliness and safety of the park and its visitors.”

In May, the Second Judicial District Court ruled to remove the temporary injunction against the city on how it handles the removal of homeless encampments. 

The neighbor says she hopes the city can do more to keep the park clean. 

“I just think it’s, they don’t respect our living area, and if they respected it more, I wouldn’t complain,” said the neighbor.  

A city spokesperson also says the city hasn’t made any recent policy changes when it comes to removing encampments on public property. Gallegos reiterated that while stating this:

“The City makes every effort to provide resources and shelter to those experiencing homelessness, and we balance those efforts with the need to keep our city clean and safe for all who live here. We continue to follow our policy for handling encampments and provide notice to illegal campers before they are required to vacate. 

There are no recent changes to the City’s encampment protocols.”

A judge’s ruling on the temporary injunction loosened restrictions on what it can and cannot do when removing homeless encampments.