For the past few days, homeless campers living near Stone Avenue North and 128th Street in north Seattle say some really loud music started blaring from a cluster of speakers mounted on the Comcast service building.
Dana, a homeless woman living nearby, says a really annoying medley of classical music, like Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, was driving everyone nuts at all hours of the day.
Another man, Arthur, says it was hard to sleep, and “it would be the same song over and over and over.” He described it as “music that will effect your psyche.”
I asked, “How do you sleep with that loud music?” Dana said, “I go elsewhere.”
Dana believes the cable giant is targeting them for living on the street, hoping they would pack up and go away: “Oh yeah, yeah. It’s the same speaker that normally warnings to trespassers, now blasting tunes…. Because they want the people to leave. They can’t think of a better way to do it.”
The Comcast building was closed by the time I got there Monday evening. I did reach out to the company, hoping for an explanation. But so far, no response.
Tyler Kummer at the auto shop across the street says there is no doubt that Comcast intentionally blasted music. He says, “Comcast, one of the managers over there came over here and asked if it would impact us. And we were like no. Go for it.”
He adds, “As far as I know they’re playing it all night long to drive the homeless out of the neighborhood … but it doesn’t seem to have moved anybody.”
John C. says this is the first time in days he isn’t hearing a full-blown symphony orchestra playing above his tent, but believes there could be another remix on the way.
He says he’ll keep me posted if the music starts again.
I ask him if he there’s anything he’d like to say to Comcast.
His response was only, “Nothing. They’re f***ed up … for that I have nothing to say.”
Blind Rage
Side streets along N.Aurora Ave. have homeless camps blocking sidewalks. But this blind man had enough. @ADANational needs to scrutinize potential Americans w/ Disabilities Act violations caused by encampments in #Seattle.
This Is Seattle
In second video, blind man is struggling to walk through debris on sidewalk from homeless encampment. A woman starts arguing w/blind man and accuses him of harassment. Parts of city still upside down.