Mayor Tishaura Jones, city employees and a downtown developer allegedly retaliated against an outreach worker for his advocacy for St. Louis’ unhoused population, a federal lawsuit claims.
In the suit filed Monday, Yitzchak “Yitzy” Simon alleged the mayor and other co-defendants violated his First Amendment right to criticize the Jones administration’s treatment of unhoused people by threatening his job and former employer, the St. Patrick Center nonprofit, with the loss of public grant money.
St. Patrick Center assists unhoused individuals in the St. Louis area and opened the city's first 24-hour, low-barrier safe haven in January.
Simon was fired as a coordinated street outreach worker at St. Patrick Center after the mayor personally called his boss, then St. Patrick Center CEO Anthony D’Agostino, and demanded Simon leave the site of a homeless camp eviction near Laclede’s Landing in March, the suit alleges.
The city of St. Louis cleared two camps of people experiencing homelessness in March. One was under a pavilion of the former President’s Casino that closed in 2010, and another was just north of the site, where individuals in the camp moved to after the first eviction.
The suit says Simon has long been a vocal supporter of St. Louis’ unhoused population and a vocal critic of the Jones’ administration for its treatment of people experiencing homelessness — which allegedly didn’t sit right with the mayor.
Other defendants include former Jones appointee Yusef Scoggin, who served as director of the Department of Human Services until April, when he left to serve as Covenant House Missouri’s chief executive officer; and Advantes Group, a private real estate developer trying to revive Laclede’s Landing.
At the site of the first eviction on March 10, Advantes Group co-owner Gretchen Minges told the RFT the encampment attracted crime and drugs and posed a danger for the area. She spoke in favor of disbanding the camp.
Simon was questioned and photographed by city employees while at the site of each March eviction. At one point, according to the suit, Scoggin told Simon that he thought Simon was “sabotaging the process” by making contact with people at the eviction. Later that day, the suit claims, city employees wrote emails and/or made calls to management at St. Patrick Center to complain about Simon’s presence at the riverfront pavilion encampment.
Several occupants of the first camp moved just north of the pavilion after the city evicted it. About two weeks later, the city carried out another eviction “without written notice” on March 24, at which Simon was present, but not in his capacity as an employee of St. Patrick Center.
When Simon arrived, according to the suit, he noticed City of St. Louis' Homeless Services Division employee Richard Dixon taking photographs and videos of him on his phone. Dixon later told Simon, “I’m going to get you fired.”
Later that day, the lawsuit alleges D’Agostino called Simon to tell him the mayor’s office knew Simon was at the encampment. “I just want you to know that any actions that you take are happening after the mayor’s office called,” D’Agostino allegedly said. “But I know you are off work today, and you can do what you want.”
D’Agostino later called Simon two more times to say the mayor herself had called and demanded Simon leave the area. She ultimately threatened to ensure St. Patrick Center would not receive public funds from the city if D’Agostino did not fire Simon, and that she would block St. Patrick’s attempts to secure funding for future operations.
On March 27, Simon’s supervisor told him not to come into work that week. A few days later, he was fired.
In a termination letter, St. Patrick Center stated: “Your actions on March 24th, 2023, resulted in the threat of St. Patrick Center losing funding and created conflict with our funders and supporters and is the primary reason for termination. … Simply put, this is considered gross misconduct and you brought St. Patrick Center into serious dispute with the city of St. Louis and other potential funding sources, which would be a detriment to the organization.”
The suit also describes Jones as a “sophisticated political operator” who allegedly threatened to "black list" Board of Aldermen President Megan Green if Green interfered with the city's evicting of the homeless encampments.
A spokesmen for Jones declined to comment on pending litigation. Green's Secretary of Communications and Public Engagement Yusuf Daneshyar gave the following statement:
"I can't comment on pending litigation, but I can say that the president has been steadfast in her commitment to our unhoused neighbors. Since taking office, President Green has worked closely with stakeholders to develop an Unhoused Bill of Rights — legislation that we fully expect to introduce at the Board of Aldermen this fall."
Simon’s lawyer, Steven Hoffmann of Newton and Barth, says he intends to hold the mayor accountable.
“Mayor Jones knew she lacked the legitimate authority to threaten a homeless services provider with the loss of public grant money if they didn’t do her bidding and terminate a conscientious employee,” Hoffmann said in a statement. “St. Patrick Center has not been sued because they are a victim of the mayor’s threats, along with Yitzy Simon."
This story has been updated with comment from the offices of Tishaura Jones and Megan Green.
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