If you would like to avoid cussing, fighting and gambling, then be careful when approaching City Hall.

Hemming Plaza, right across the street, is a center of this activity, said City Council member Denise Lee.

“This thing is festering and it has been going on for such a long time. I know that I’m disgusted,” she said during a meeting at City Hall.

She recently led a meeting by a special council committee looking into cleaning up what ought to be a landmark in Jacksonville.

Instead, Hemming Plaza has become an eyesore that can’t be ignored.

Lee spared no words. She said fearful visitors avoid walking through the park.