New Orleans clears out homeless camp of 160 people

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — City workers wearing gloves — and a few in face masks — threw sofas, armchairs and quilts into garbage trucks today, clearing out a homeless encampment of about 160 people. Officials said it attracted rats and called it a public health hazard.

By the end of rush hour, an area underneath an overpass less than a mile from the Superdome, where the NFL's New Orleans Saints play, was empty of tents, clothes, cardboard boxes and other items. Workers hosed down the concrete.

City officials gave the homeless about 2 1/2 days of notice and said there were enough beds in shelters. Most of them went to a shelter, but some didn't.

"I have no desire, no inclination, to live in there with a hundred men," Billy Holmes said, gesturing to the nearby New Orleans Mission. He said he had been living under the highway for more than a month after he damaged a disk in his neck in June, ending his construction work.

Holmes said the city wanted the encampment cleared because it looks bad to tourists — the city's biggest business — and because the Saints have their first preseason home game Friday.

"In my opinion, the football season takes precedence. They want to clear it out for tailgating and parking," Holmes said.