WILMINGTON — The remaining bus benches built and installed by the Democratic Socialists of America in Wilmington are being stored by city staff while the two parties work toward an agreement about their continued temporary use.
According to a city spokesperson, the benches were removed and stored Friday, Aug. 7, just one day after the North Carolina Department of Transportation also retrieved 24 benches in its rights-of-way. The city had around six placed in its roadways.
Amy Willis, spokesperson for the city, said government officials continue having discussions with DSA to use the benches until Wave can install its own. Wave has plans to procure amenities for 38 more of its stops, totaling $765,000. Currently, out of more than 400 bus stops, there are 98 with either a bus shelter or bench, Wave told Port City Daily previously.
READ MORE: NCDOT removes unauthorized bus benches from state-owned roadways, city benches in limbo
ALSO: Democratic Socialists’ bus benches remain, city mum on next steps
The DSA benches cost $200 overall, according to the organization, which built them out of scrap wood. However, DSA didn’t receive permission and has placed 30 around town since last April; Wave and NCDOT have said they’re not compliant.
Parts of the city’s agreement, according to Willis, include maintaining the benches and providing the city with information about the benches’ construction and placement, in order to ensure compliance on city-owned roadways.
“These requirements are intended to ensure that infrastructure placed within the public right-of-way can be appropriately maintained and managed,” communications manager Willis wrote in an email.
Further, the agreement will clarify that if the benches remain, they will only be installed until official amenities by Wave can be placed. Willis added if an agreement isn’t reached with DSA, the organization will be able to retrieve the benches from storage.
DSA bench builders painted messages on handmade seating, such as “You are my sunshine” or “We must have mass social housing,” which sparked backlash. One was even nabbed by the Cape Fear Proud Boys, who repainted the bench to include its group’s logo and a different message: “Socialism is slavery.”
The DSA released a statement on the “theft and removal” of their bus stop benches following NCDOT’s removal Thursday and the Proud Boys’ actions.
“Disagreements aside, we appreciate the irony that the vandals could only display their message on a bench built by socialists which they proceeded to ‘take’ instead of building something on their own,” the organization wrote. “We had no plans to pursue a single bench used in an internet stunt, especially since it did not seem as though the bench was actually left for commuters to use. That serves no one, especially the individuals who used that bench to get to and from work, or around the city. If the bench is, indeed, at a new location, we hope it is able to be used by people who need it.”
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