Residents of the Phillips West neighborhood in Minneapolis are asking city leaders to remove a recently erected homeless encampment.

Neighbors and Minneapolis police said a new homeless encampment was set up on March 27 on the 2900 block of Fifth Avenue South in Minneapolis, just north of East Lake Street.

One neighbor, who wanted his identity protected, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that residents in the area sent a letter to Mayor Jacob Frey, MPD Chief Brian O’Hara and the entire City Council asking them to take action and remove the encampment.

“We’re scared out of our minds. I’ve had people on my porch at 2 a.m. and there’s needles on the ground,” said the neighborhood resident. “There’s broken glass everywhere and we have a ton of kids that live on this block.”

MPD records showed that since the encampment was set up nearly two weeks ago, there have been more than a dozen calls to the property, including a stabbing, a drug overdose and an explosion.

Minneapolis City Council member LaTrisha Vetaw told KSTP the city should move to close down this latest encampment.

“I mean, it’s got to be removed. We can’t allow these to keep happening and yes, we have a problem where we clear one out and one goes back in, but we got to keep doing it until we figure it out,” said Vetaw.

The city of Minneapolis later released a statement regarding the encampment:

The City is working to close the encampment on 5th Avenue South. Closure is likely to take place next week with the City providing one week advance notice prior to closure. Outreach workers continue working on connecting community members at the encampment with available services from Hennepin County and other community partners. Those resources include shelter, housing, mental health, and addiction services. The City continues to balance the needs of encampment residents with those of nearby residents and businesses when considering its response.