Xerxes Wilson

The News Journal

In some cities, residents complain about violence. In others, they rail against traffic. In Old New Castle, some see "Pokémon people" as an invasive force ruining the city's quiet, colonial vibe.

It's been less than a year since game developer Niantic released Pokémon Go, a smartphone game that allows players to explore the real world hunting for digital characters that show up on their smartphone.

Though the game's popularity has waned since last summer, New Castle's waterfront at Battery Park remains the prime hunting ground for some of the game's rarest Pokémon. So aside the stately, 200-year-old homes, cobblestone sidewalks and real people who live one of Delaware's oldest settlements, visitors wander, phone to face, seeing the real world projected onto their screen via their phone's camera and hoping an elusive, digital monster appears in their path.

POLL: Have you tried Pokemon Go?

But instead of a tourist attraction that brings more people into town, some residents see it as a major headache that brings traffic, trash and noise. It has sparked a raging debate over the kind of visitors the city should welcome while preserving its historic vibe.

"They defecate, urinate and procreate over there," said Sandy Beale, one of the founders of the informal Pokémon No committee of residents. "You don't feel as though you want to go down and enjoy the park because it is not your park anymore."

Keith Adams lives in a 300-year-old colonial townhome in a historic alley leading into Battery Park, identified in online forums as prime hunting grounds immediately after the game's July release.

"You have to show people how they are expected to act when they come to a historic town. Like maybe it is not a good idea to drop your cigarette next to someone's 200-year-old house," Adams said. "My current issue: The side of my house has been chosen as a urinal. Pretty much every other day I can get up and see someone has" used his property as a bathroom.

Pokémon hunters say they are attracted to New Castle because of Battery Park's beauty and they regularly find rare Pokémon. The city is also packed with Pokestops, digital hotspots that players must visit to receive in-game bonuses.

Chasta Unwin said she and her family make the trip from Smyrna at least twice a week to hunt in Battery Park.

"It's a family thing. We walk around, we get exercise and we spend time together," she said as she led a group of seven children and their friends around the park. "We try to be respectful and carry out what we bring in."

Craig Miloy, a New Castle resident who tries to visit Battery Park to play Pokémon a few times a week, said any drawback for the city is down to a few bad apples.

"You have people that will complain about anything," Miloy said. "There will always be people like that."

STORY: Long-awaited New Castle dock to open soon

STORY: Accusations of racism infect New Castle city politics

In a recent press release, Niantic said the game still has 65 million players worldwide, though its popularity is nothing like when it was first released and hordes of players descended upon the town.

Unlike other spots in the county, there is still a steady stream of players, eyes glued to their phones, wandering New Castle's cobblestone sidewalks. The city's historic homes are closely intertwined with Battery Park and opponents of the game say "zombie-like" players wander the residential area downtown, making the atmosphere different than the quiet colonial town that attracted them.

"It is a lot more crowded, a lot noisier and a lot dirtier," said Natalie Kozlowski, who bought her Delaware Street home two years ago. "It is actually why I put my house on the market."

Residents like Kozlowski said The Strand, Delaware Street and other residential streets downtown are becoming inundated with trash, noise from passing cars at all times of the night, visitors gobbling residential parking spots and late-night foot traffic not seen before the release of the game.

The Beales bought a nearly 200-year-old home on The Strand, part of the city's historic downtown with the highest property values, 14 years ago. Binney Beale, Sandy's husband, said the "lifestyle" he bought into has "totally changed."

Part of the problem is the influx of visitors do not stop to appreciate the history of Delaware's first settlement, Sandy Beale said. The city's historic courthouse was recently named as part of the First State National Historic Park, and beyond their own quality-of-life complaints, they see Pokémon as an existential threat to the city's historic character and reputation.

"I am very fearful that quality of life and sense of place in an early Delaware River town is going to lose its character," Adams said. "Some might think that is an elitist thing to say ... I don't care. It is unique and it deserves preservation."

Those who fear Pokémon have excoriated City Council to better enforce rules regarding distracted driving, parking violations, littering and loitering. The Beales had more than 100 residents sign a petition asking for a special meeting to discuss a solution. And Pokémon became an issue in the city's recent election.

"I can't tell people they can't come to New Castle and play Pokémon," said Jamie C. Rogers, chief of police in New Castle. "I can say 'if you come to New Castle and play Pokémon and park illegally, you are going to get a parking ticket.' "

Rogers said violations for parking and driving while distracted, especially in the downtown area, have gone up since Pokémon hunters arrived. The city also now closes the park at dusk instead of 11 p.m. in response to Pokémon complaints.

But it hasn't been good enough for some residents, who feel enforcement has been lax. They say it is common to see people driving the city's historic streets phone to face and see the perceived lack of enforcement as a conscious effort by a city government to coddle visitors for the benefit of a handful of downtown businesses.

STORY: In Old New Castle, tension over 'Pokémon Go'

STORY: Delaware celebrates national park...finally

"It is the choice that has been made," Sandy Beale said. "Who keeps the ambiance of this place up? All of us who live in these wonderful old houses. We feel very much as though we have been used and abused."

The game has been a buoy to some downtown businesses like Jessop's Tavern, a restaurant at the end of Delaware Street near Battery Park housed in a building built in 1764. Justin Day, the tavern's owner, has seen business pick up about 25 percent since the town became a Pokémon Go destination.

"They actually drink and eat. When someone complains, I have to respectfully say it hasn't affected me negatively," Day said. "It has gone from a ghost town to something actually happening."

Rogers said he isn't turning a blind eye for the sake of welcoming visitors. Much of the time, the city only has two or three officers patrolling a population of 5,400 residents which can swell to well over 15,000 during the day.

"I don't have the luxury of having an officer stand by Second Street or The Strand all night long," Rogers said. "We can't discriminate against one group. Some say 'let's restrict electronic communication.' You just can't enforce that."

Rogers said the city will have four part-time officers added to its ranks in the summer.

STORY: Meet Delaware's Donald Trump: John Di Mondi

STORY: Ratchford defeats Di Mondi for council president

"I think the city has a great reputation and I don't think that Pokémon threatens the reputation," said Council President Linda Ratchford, who lives next door to the Beales. "I think that we can figure out how to do a better job of making it nice for visitors and residents."

For Ratchford, that includes considering security cameras at the wharf near Battery Park and further discussion of new parking rules for residents, something that has been discussed for several years.

Pokémon opponents see these as meaningless platitudes.

"At this point, I don't think it is so much the people playing Pokémon as it is the City Council that doesn't enforce laws and codes in town," Adams said. "I think (city officials) need to be very clever and see what other cities are doing and perhaps file a lawsuit."

It's a problem cities around the world have faced.

Dutch authorities have taken Niantic to court demanding the company remove the digital monsters from a sensitive beach area in a coastal town south of The Hague. Others have demanded Niantic remove the digital monsters from cemeteries, museums and churches. Lawsuits have been filed by residents from New Jersey to California demanding Niantic remove Pokémon hotspots on or near their homes.

But some New Castle residents feel their neighbors need to exhale.

Anne Yarbrough has lived along Battery Park for about a year and said she has enjoyed watching families take in the park's beauty and said the players have been "unfailingly polite."

"I think it is lovely," Yarbrough said. "It is delightful. It is intergenerational and we have this wonderful park."

As summer comes, those who see the game as a negative influence are bracing for another influx and will continue to pressure city leadership. Niantic has hinted at updates to the game that allow players to fight each other (in the digital world) with their Pokémon, adding to their fears that New Castle will never be the same.

"There is a sense of place that is diminishing," Adams said. "You can't just go up and say get out of here, but there are ways to instill a code of expected behavior or get the game more in public spaces, not in front of someone's house."

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.