A would-be pantry at a Halifax park where people have been living in tents this winter has been torn down.
The city says in a statement staff removed the “illegal” and “unsafe” wooden structure after police assessed the site at Meagher Park on Saturday afternoon.
“Halifax Regional Police visited the site and it was determined that this illegal structure was intended to serve as a cooking facility for occupants of the park,” the municipality says. “Due to the safety risks of operating an illegal structure of this nature in a public park, the individuals building the structure were asked to remove it.”
The city says it stepped in to remove the wooden platform several hours after asking the encampment to take it down.
Park volunteer Laura Patterson live-streamed its removal and pled with city workers and police.
“That’s $1,000 worth of money that community members raised so that people could have food that is not covered in mud. Food that does not get destroyed every time it rains, it snows,” she says in the video.
Volunteers called the wooden platform a “kitchen,” which was being built to help protect food from mud, snow, and rain.
— Laura Krabappel (@laurakrabappel) February 27, 2022
When it was removed, it had a wooden base and frame.
Volunteers intended to add sheathing, hurricane ties, and a large tarp.
Residents did not have a permit for the building. No fines were issued.
