An employee of a Ballard business reportedly soaked someone’s belongings in an attempt to discourage them from squatting on the property.
According to a Seattle Weekly report released yesterday, an employee of Mac’s Upholstery (5015 15th Ave. N.W.) propped a garden hose over the fence so it could spray a collection of objects below. The pile was covered by plastic.
Despite their headline, Seattle Weekly could not confirm if the structure was actually a homeless person’s camp:
“To be clear: while it's hard to imagine an alternative explanation, we haven't actually identified the owners of the flooded items or confirmed that they're homeless.”
However, they did speak with the employee who rigged the hose, and he said he was trying to “help the meth heads find another place to live.”
The Ballard News-Tribune stopped by Mac’s this morning. In the customer parking lot there was a sprinkler spraying freely on the hood of a car. Inside the shop an employee denied knowing anything about the incident or hearing about the Seattle Weekly’s report.
Later this morning the BNT called the shop and spoke with Tony Mazzarelli, owner of Mac’s Upholstery. He denied having anything to do with the actions of the employee and said the employee “took it upon himself” to soak the belongings.
“I did not condone that; he did it on his own,” said Mazzarelli.
Mazzarelli also denied there was ever a person camping at the scene and that there was only a pile of possessions there. In addition, he had no comment when asked if Mac’s Upholstery still employs the perpetrator. He could not comment on their motivation, either.
However, Mazzarelli was eager to comment on other “issues” happening in the area of his shop.
According to Mazzarelli the area has had chronic problems with loiterers and drug users. He said there has been property stolen from the car lot to the south of Mac’s and that “defecation,” garbage and graffiti have been a nuisance for him and other businesses in the area.
In addition, according to Mazzarelli, there was a human body found in an abandoned grocery cart near his business last October. The BNT checked police reports and cannot confirm Mazzarelli’s claim at this time.
Mazzarelli also insisted that Mac’s Upholstery has helped the homeless with donations and that he has employed two homeless individuals in the last year.
