Proposed city council bill could impact protestors, homeless in Downtown Albuquerque 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A broad bill looking to help fill Downtown Albuquerque’s vacant buildings could also add new rules against blocking sidewalks, and that could affect everyone from protestors to the homeless.

“I do believe this will make a difference,” said City Councilor Joaquin Baca.

“We want a place we all feel safe walking around, and this is not the way to do it,” said Maria Martinez Sanchez, the legal director for ACLU of New Mexico.

There’s split reaction to the potential changes to Downtown. Within Councilor Baca’s proposal to help fill vacant Downtown buildings, there are also rules that could make it illegal to form a line across a sidewalk while carrying banners and signs – or what some would see as protesting.

“We definitely see some legal vulnerabilities; it opens up the city to another costly lawsuit that I just don’t think it needs to be in, wants to be in,” said Martinez Sanchez.

Baca now said he’ll introduce changes to that language, which could alleviate concerns. Those amendments are expected to be heard during Monday’s city council meeting.

“I am introducing an amendment to make that explicitly clear,” Baca explained. “Everyone should be able to protest.”

However, the same bill may also carry big implications for homelessness Downtown. Some of the language within it would make it illegal to sleep, sit, or obstruct sidewalks. Baca said he’s not looking to punish the homeless Downtown but to make it safer for shoppers and businesses.

“Everybody that lives and works Downtown, nearly everybody, is in support of this,” Baca added. “The people who tend to be against it don’t live and work Downtown. The rules we took were already pre-existing in other cities.”

However, the ACLU of New Mexico said the bill is concerning.

“We need to address the root causes of homelessness in our city, and in our state, and criminalizing people for engaging in certain activities like sleeping on a sidewalk or being in public spaces is not the answer,” Martinez Sanchez said.