VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — People in the Lynnhaven area of Virginia Beach are concerned about a waterfront homeless community.
The good news here is that most of the people have cleared out.
The bad news is that there’s loads of trash left behind and lingering concerns that they could return.
10 On Your Side went out there to find out what is being done to prevent that from happening.
When we got out to the Brook Green Commons neighborhood on Potters Road, the problem was quickly noticeable, with lots of trash and scattered belongings from the old homeless site along with new boats on the water marking the beginnings of a floating homeless flotilla.
10 On Your Side yelled to the boats on the water.
“Hello. Hello. Are you there?”
No one answered, but 10 On Your Side believes someone was inside the boat that was sitting near the middle of London Bridge Creek.
The boat is named ‘FEEBUS,’ and the transport vessel to shore is alongside on the right with another craft to port — three vessels tied together.
“Under the bridge are where the boats are,” said a nearby neighbor who did not want his name used. “Neighbors have complained to the Marine Association. No one has done anything about it. They’ve even had drones taking pictures of them, and no one has done anything about that either.”
Also, out there, a barge homeless house with an American flag and the sunken jet ski out in the waterway too.
“I don’t think they should be allowed to stay on the water way like that at nighttime,” he said. “There are no lights, anything like that, no visibility, not that it is used much, but that’s a waterway, that is a creek.”
On March 20, 10 On Your Side was up creek at another location and one of the boats at the new site looks very familiar from that report. That’s when we met Chris, who was in a tent on that site.
“It’s just a place where I can go to be at peace, eat, do a lot of reading, cook every once in a while,” he said.
His camp now is not what it once was, it appears, as structures have been taken down and away.
At the new site, the neighbor said that “you could hear the homeless people yelling and screaming, and you could actually hear them from my home. We got rid of them within a week and that was good.”
Left behind at the new site is a lot of trash and belongings from where the homeless camp once took their sleep.
Also left behind is an abandoned pickup truck — no license plate, window open, not operating, no visible keys and a green sticker from police saying it is abandoned.
“My neighbor has called the police department about three, or four times, and no one has done nothing about it,” the man said.
We also called the police and they green tagged it Oct. 4, and promised us it will be towed soon.
The neighbor was appreciative.
“It is great you showed interest,” the man said. “It’s important you showed up because we are out here, and when people complain, people get results.”
10 On Your Side is keeping our eye out on this one, having been told that this is the way homeless flotillas begin, one boat at a time, and efforts are underway to remove the “FEEBUS” in the near future.