A.G. Gancarski
The removal or remediation of “blight” has been a recurrent discussion in Jacksonville in recent years. The term has come to mean many things, ranging from the removal of distressed structures to the removal of what outgoing Councilwoman E. Denise Lee calls “human blight.”
“At the end of the day, what businesses are going to move into areas that are No. 1, unsafe, and No. 2, that are depressed with blight, not just trash blight, and lack of mowing right-of-ways, but human blight?” she said last year. “They stand on corners all day long; they break into people’s homes; they put trash on the ground; and they sell drugs.”.
Her free-ranging definition has enraged many in the community, and the definition of blight expanded this week to address the community scourge of padlocks — aka “love locks” — on a fence, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.
City spokeswoman Aleizha Batson said Tuesday morning the locks were removed by the parks maintenance staff because the area supervisor considered them to be blight and graffiti.
She said the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department will review the issue for consideration to allow the locks in designated park locations yet to be identified.
Under city code, any artificial or man-made object illegally placed within a public right-of-way or attached to an object on public property is defined under the law as “litter” and therefore subject to removal.
That does not sit well with those who put locks on the fence, following a tradition that is now global, to express their love in a public way. Mike Field, who had put a lock on a fence to symbolize his love for his fiancee, had this to say on Facebook:
Just got back from vacation to see that the City of Jacksonville has cut down all of the love locks along the Northbank Riverwalk. Bravo! Congratu-Freaking-Lations!! You’ve finally FIXED DOWNTOWN!!! Jacksonville has the sixth highest divorce rate in the country and the Clerk of Courts is refusing to perform gay marriage ceremonies at the courthouse. By destroying an expression of love for another, people will now FLOCK DOWNTOWN because they will feel so welcomed and appreciated. How did we not see this before? This is the magic bean that will finally allow downtown to really flourish. Awesome, awesome, awesome move COJ.
Others, such as Keri Kidder, also commented on Facebook: “We may or may not have put one there for my Dad when he passed in July. And my wife may or may not stop everyday that she runs to visit the lock and remember.”
Throughout the Alvin Brown administration, Jacksonville has had a recurrent battle regarding how to maintain the integrity of public spaces. Local artist Chip Southworth, who was working under the pseudonym of Keith Haring’s Ghost, battled with law enforcement when he painted Haringesque images on public utility boxes. Eventually, the city relented and moved toward a program to allow art in public spaces.
Undoubtedly, we will see some accommodation that allows local residents to pay tribute to those they love in this way. For now, however, there are a lot of hurt feelings. Locks are already being put up, reportedly, to replace the ones removed.
