After-hours stays at Airplane Park top Monroe Village Board agenda

A recurring theme at both Monroe and Woodbury town board meetings this month has been the noticeable increase in the area’s unhoused population. The Village of Monroe is not immune to this sad phenomenon. Mayor Neil Dwyer reported during the November 6 board meeting that unhoused community members have taken to sleeping in odd places overnight, including the 9/11 Memorial.

Concerns from the community have also been raised about “vagrants with their shopping carts going into Airplane Park property after hours.” The derogatory term “vagrants,” in this case, refers to people who, through various circumstances — including the area’s deficit of affordable housing — find themselves without a permanent residence. According to CNN Business, housing affordability is currently at its lowest rate in decades. This is due to low inventory, 7% mortgage rates, and the average price of a home increasing from $258,000 in 2019 to $416,000 today. In Monroe, according to a search on RocketHomes.com, the median price of a home is $491,875, an 11% increase from $431,917 last year. Housing inventory in the area has also decreased by 3.5%.

Mayor Dwyer also stated that the village has been in contact with the Orange County Office of Mental Health; however, there are limits on what help can be offered if the individuals in question do not wish to accept any. The Village Board is currently looking at ways to remedy the matter. This includes addressing the inconsistency with the park hours. Currently, Airplane Park is open from dawn to dusk, while other parts of the park are open until 11 p.m. The plan is to make the hours of operation consistent across the entire park. Going from dawn to dusk across the span of the entire park will allow the Monroe Village Police the ability to enforce restrictions on park use after hours. Smith Clove Park is not involved in the proposed time change, but it’s not clear if the park behind Provident Bank, next to the tennis courts. will be. (For those who don’t know, there is a small, square-shaped park located back there.) Changing the hours of access to Airplane Park and Crane Park will not impact the bike trail, which is currently open 24/7.

Other park news

Smoking is prohibited in all of the parks within the village; however, there is no easy way to enforce the smoking ban at the present time. Members of the public have complained about cigarette and cannabis smoke, particularly while attending concert events held at Crane Park where the smoke is most noticeable. The Village Board added that the sale of cannabis is not allowed within the village, despite its approved legality throughout the state (under state law, consumption is allowed by those of legal age wherever tobacco consumption is allowed).

The board will investigate what Chester and Woodbury do to enforce their no smoking rules for inspiration on how to alleviate this issue. According to the SUNY Rockefeller Institute of Government, both the town and village of Monroe have opted out of hosting cannabis dispensaries and consumption sites within their borders. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that, while more research is needed into the effects of secondhand cannabis smoke, “THC can be passed to infants and children through secondhand smoke, and people exposed to secondhand marijuana smoke can experience psychoactive effects, such as feeling high.”

It remains to be seen what anti-smoking efforts will be in place in time for the next Fourth of July celebration at the park. The village is currently looking at tentative dates of July 3rd or 5th to hold the annual celebration.