Local mayor threatens to turn fire hoses on homeless

A number of NGOs dealing with the homeless expressed their outrage on Tuesday at statements made by the mayor of the Bratislava borough of Podunajské Biskupice, Alžbeta Ožvaldová. She stated in a local newspaper that if the homeless "sojourn under the trees, we'll send out a firefighter vehicle to water the grass". Ožvaldová made the comment in response to complaints from a local resident who had expressed uneasiness with the noisy behaviour of drunken homeless people in front of a local apartment block. In the newspaper the mayor responded that a bench from an adjacent bus stop had already been removed to discourage homeless individuals from loitering, lamenting that there are no other legal options to "push away" the homeless from the location. Ožvaldová later clarified her statement to the paper, adding "We don't intend to spray water on unadaptable people, but to discourage them from sitting on the grass by wetting it, thereby preventing them from being unruly, urinating, lying and drinking [alcohol] beneath the windows of our inhabitants, who're complaining and demanding the situation be tackled," Ožvaldová told TASR. "We appreciate the work of the third sector, we're sorry for everyone who's lost their home, we also strive to help them, but it also needs to be noted that not everyone accepts a helping hand," added Ožvaldová.