City will spend $600K a year for Downtown Mall cleaning crew

The city has contracted with a company called Block by Block for two years in an effort to address concerns about “cleanliness and safety” on our pedestrian mall.

Haves and have nots: The Downtown Mall near Third Street several years ago.

Last July, Friends of Cville Downtown had to do some damage control after launching a petition that one critic said amounted to “not very subtle dog whistles about making sure the unsightly unhoused people were not to be seen on the Downtown Mall." Friends of Cville Downtown quickly changed the language of the petition and added some thoughtful suggestions for the Downtown Mall, including “a Downtown ambassador program such as Block by Block to take over cleanliness and maintenance for the Downtown district.”

Recently, Friends of Cville Downtown again found itself the target of critics, this time for their support of a hastily introduced “camping ban” ordinance, which those critics called “inhumane,” a “boot to the face” of homeless people, and an “abomination.” City Council quickly voted 5-0 to table the idea indefinitely.