With Mandalay Park rapidly becoming the City's newest homeless haven and a seeming lack of police patrols in an area that includessome of the highest taxed Clearwaterproperties and some of the beach's most active nightlife,the garbage was flowing all over the park this Memorial day weekend. Drunken panhandlers asking for handouts accosted park walkers and stollers on North Beach Mandalay Ave. well into each of the weekend nights, and the benches and tables became "temporary housing," unusable for visitors and residents
Residents were heard to express shock at the apparent lack of concern for the City's reputation and the impression being made on tourists and potential real estate buyers, especially in the current market. Ken and Patti Robulak, Belle Harbor residents who wrote the City, aptly described the Park as having a "third world appearance."
The park was cleaned on Tuesday, after the holiday weekend had ended and the Robulaks' letter received at City Hall. Residents wonder if the park will continue to serve as a "shelter" once the multi million dollar SandPearl hotel complex is completed.
Marty Altner
