Bookstore faces city action over homeless encampment
By Corey Howard
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ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — The city of Albuquerque is seeking to declare Quirky Used Books & More a public nuisance due to a homeless encampment on the bookstore’s property. The store, located on Jefferson Street just off Central, opened about three years ago. Owner Gillam Kerley said he has gotten to know some of the unhoused people in the area and decided to help them.
“When the city began escalating its encampment sweeps and criminalizing the presence of unhoused people on public property, we felt we needed to do something for these people who we had gotten to know, so we did allow a few people to camp at the back of the parking lot,” Kerley said.
Some business owners in the area are pushing back against the encampment, claiming it is hindering their business. These claims are detailed in a civil complaint issued earlier this month, which states that neighboring property owners have complained about a “terrible environment of garbage, human excrement, graffiti, campfires, and property damage.”
Kerley said, “The city’s case they brought against us concerns unhoused people generally in the neighborhood. They don’t link it to the people who are camping here.”
While the city offers safe space programs that allow people to camp in designated areas, Kerley believes the approval process is too expensive and complicated, prompting him to take matters into his own hands. Jeremy Ryan, who lives at the encampment, expressed uncertainty about where he would go if the city cleared the area.
“I don’t know…. we need something,” Ryan said.
The city provided a statement regarding the situation, saying, “This has been an ongoing issue, and the court action is the next logical step for the city. If anyone needs help, city resources are available.”
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