Living under the radar

Ever wondered what it would be like to live at the mall?

Well eight artists in Providence, R.I. experienced it first hand when they illegally made an unused space in the Providence Place mall into an apartment.

On Sept 26, mall security took Michael J. Townsend and a companion, who was later released, into custody after the two entered the apartment. Townsend, his wife Adriana Yoto, 29, and six other artists lived in the space off-and-on for almost four years.

So why did it take so long for mall security to discover this secret?

The eight illegal mall tenants put great effort into staying under the radar. They created a wall from cinder blocks and added a door that concealed the apartment from its storage room neighbor. All that could be seen from the storage room was a ladder leading to the locked door.

The area lacked running water, a toilet and a refrigerator, but Townsend, 36, and his accomplices stayed there for up to three weeks at a time. They equipped the apartment with large amounts of water, a coffee table, lamps, a couch, love seat and dining table with four chairs, and decorated with a rug and paintings. Electricity came courtesy of an extension cord to an power outlet in the storage room. They even watched TV and played video games on a Sony Playstation2. In order to relieve themselves, they snuck out to use the mall’s restrooms.

It seems as though they were living pretty well at the mall’s expense. Without utility bills or rent, all they had to do was buy food and clean up after themselves. Not a bad deal, until they were caught and punished.

Townsend pleaded no contest to a criminal charge of trespassing, which was reduced from the original felony charge of breaking and entering in the daytime. The courts sentenced him to six months of probation and ordered him to pay restitution and court fees. He was also banned from the mall.

A punishment lacking jail time seems awfully generous for a man who made his home on someone else’s property. I don’t know about you, but if somebody moved onto my property without my knowledge, I would want him in a jail cell for at least a few months. I mean, it wouldn’t be that harsh of a punishment since I would still be partially funding it, right?

Although most people would assume the tenants had to force their way into the building, the concept was debated. While police and mall security reported that the unwanted residents broke in, they claim the door was either unlocked or ajar when they entered.

Townsend, who began his stay in order to observe modern mall behaviors, denied allegations of force entry by saying he is not a “lock-picker.”

Throughout the whole ordeal, Townsend and Yoto did not seem to be remorseful about the choices they made. In fact, the only disappointment mentioned was in regards to the early termination of their research.

It is probably quite easy to remain guilt-free when your only discipline for this type of crime is a six month timeout and some monthly payments. Maybe all the homeless people in the world should research the blueprints of their local malls, find the empty rooms, and have a place to stay for at least four years. Then if they were ever caught, they would be fined, miss the payments because they wouldn’t have money, and get sent to jail. The plus of this is they would still be living off the streets.

*Story details obtained from an article by Gregory Smith and Philip Marcelo in The Providence Journal.
http://www.projo.com/news/content/Mall_Dwellers_10-02-07_1F7B9KA.34baf91.html