As temperatures have gone up the past couple of days tempers have flared, it seems, in some parts of the city.
Over the past 24 hours, there have been multiple calls for disturbances on State Street, as well as calls to Hutchins Place, Jackson Street, Watson, and Thorpe.
On State Street, Police Chief Shawn Heubusch said it appears there are multiple neighbors who can't get along and he suggested they never have and they never will.
"Nothing has risen to the level that we can arrest anybody," Heubusch said, though it would be helpful if witnesses to incidents were willing to put their statements in writing.
After a call on State Street this afternoon, which brought a response from Batavia PD and the Sheriff's Office, including a K-9, one deputy on State Street, when asked what was going on said, "A whole lot of 'I saw nothing.' "
"Neighbors have been calling, and that's good, but our hands are tied by changes to criminal justice this year," Heubusch said. "Without a statement, the most we can do is write an appearance ticket."
The local landlords are also more restricted in how they can respond to troublesome tenants, Heubusch noted, because of the moratorium ordered by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on most evictions, especially evictions related to missed rent payments.
Speaking of the COVID-19 pandemic response, Heubusch said, he doesn't think the recent spate of disturbances is the result of eight weeks of being on lockdown.
"These calls mostly involve people we've dealt with before," Heubusch said. "I don't think the lockdown is coming into play."
Batavia PD does have cameras installed to help monitor the situation on State Street and at Watson and Thorpe.
He said he understands the public might want more done but that takes cooperating witnesses.
One of the objectives of a police response to a crowd of people involved in a ruckus is to get the people to disperse, Heubusch said. If police can do that, it will help defuse the situation and hopefully help avoid an escalation of violence.
It might be a long summer, the chief said.
"(The disturbances are) definitely a concern," Heubusch said. "That's for sure."
