A Wilmington group is continuing to host builds for wooden benches it placed at area bus stops, even after the benches were removed in early August.
Whether the benches find their way back to Wilmington bus stops, however, remains to be seen.
Over the past year and a half, the Wilmington chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America
, or ILM-DSA, built and painted some three dozen wooden benches and placed them at bus stops around Wilmington.The colorful benches, which bore wording saying they were created by ILM-DSA, also featured a mix of innocuous statements ("stronger together") and strongly worded demands ("no rent for slumlords"). Some of the more political statements prompted complaints to Wave Transit, which provides public bus transportation
for the city of Wilmington.
In early August, according to a statement from ILM-DSA, at least one bench placed by the group was taken and repainted by what it termed "a local hate group," identified in social media posts as the Cape Fear Proud Boys.
After that, according to the statement, Dane Scalise, the Republican vice-chair of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners and a candidate in November for N.C. House District 20 in the General Assembly, "requestedpermission from NCDOT for the county to remove all benches to avoid 'vigilantism' and 'lawlessness.'"
Shortly thereafter, most if not all of the benches were removed.
In an email, Veronica Scott, a public information officer with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, wrote that "because the benches were not in compliance with the NCDOT Bus Shelter & Bus Stop Guidelines and were a safety hazard and liability for the state, they were removed from state property on Aug. 6. If the DSA would like to reclaim the benches, they can be picked up from the New Hanover County Maintenance Yard in Castle Hayne within 30 days of their removal."
According to its website, ILM-DSA has a "mutual aid bench paint" scheduled for Aug. 23. The group declined to answer questions for this story about the future of the bench project.
In July, ILM-DSA said it was "engaged in discussions with Wave and (Wilmington) City Council to find a solution that allows riders access to seating while waiting for public transit."
Brianna D’Itri, public relations manager with the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority, said in an email that "Wave Transit does not own the property at bus stops and cannot authorize amenities in city or state rights-of-way. Requests for authorization to place street furniture would go through the city or state, depending on the road."
In its statement, ILM-DSA said that "a key aspect of Democratic Socialism is the practice of mutual aid, which aims to share resources without seeking profit, build solidarity and ultimately lead to community self-determination. Repurposing the waste of capitalism by collecting discarded lumber and paint and inviting neighbors to improve their community is mutual aid."
The statement went on to say that "Scalise offered no solutions to the transit issues in our city, just the removal of material goods that had been in place for up to 15 months without issue until now. … He makes it apparent that he’d prefer transit riders to stand rather than sit on a bench built by socialists."
Scalise did not respond to a request for comment.
The statement concluded by demanding that "Scalise and the rest of the county commissioners call for NCDOT to allow our benches to be returned to the community or otherwise take immediate steps to provide official non-hostile seating for the people of Wilmington."
John Staton is the cultural issues reporter for the StarNews. You can reach him at jstaton@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Here's what's next for removed 'socialist' bus benches in Wilmington
