The proposal, which the council adopted Monday night on a 12-3 vote, is supported by Mayor Shirley Franklin, the downtown business establishment and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, who is building the $200 million Georgia Aquarium downtown without public money.
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To many Atlantans and tourists, Barbara Asher Square is a slice of city life that is not appealing. There's panhandling. Drug dealing. Marijuana smoking. Profanity. Fighting.
The city has an estimated 7,000-12,000 homeless, most of them African-American men, according to Crossroads Community Ministries, which works to move Atlanta's homeless of the streets and toward self-sufficiency.
Some supporters of the ordinance said it is not directed at all homeless people. "I'm just asking that the council separates their good and legitimate concern for homeless people from the ban on offensive, aggressive panhandling," said Jones of Georgia State.
So it was Monday that a City Council hearing on a proposal to limit begging in parts of downtown carried a special resonance. The fiery, revival-style meeting exposed raw passions that led to accusations of racism and elitism by the proposal's opponents and charges by its supporters that some of the most aggressive beggars aren't even homeless.
Opponents said the proposal is mean-spirited. "Why do we need to keep on criminalizing people who are poor?" asked Atlanta resident Steve Carr.
Clarence Davis, who is homeless, invoked the Bible: "All through the Bible, they were begging. Begging was way back there in the Bible days."
Robinson of Central Atlanta Progress said the proposal is aimed at "about 100 hard-core, aggressive panhandlers" who aren't even homeless.
Indeed, Stoops said, panhandlers are not necessarily homeless. But he said ordinances fail to address the larger circumstances that may prompt people to panhandle.
"Making it illegal to panhandle is not the solution," he said. "Maybe we should ask why someone is on the streets begging for spare change in the first place."
On Wednesday, Atlanta police began what they say will be an "indefinite" crackdown at the square, located near the Five Points MARTA station. Asher Square is a pedestrian walkway in downtown Atlanta that connects the central Five Points MARTA station to Broad Street. It's narrow with tall offices on either side and often catches a breeze, making it a good place to sit outside if you're gonna sit outside all day.
I see their point about the bad element - a lot of street people hang out here and sell drugs, I've smelled pot in the middle of the day, and if you don't know how to deal with panhandlers it can be intimidating.
This crackdown is clearly all about image, though. Asher Square was one of the more pleasant places for street people to sit around. The people who are displaced from Asher will go around the block and hang out in already overcrowded and much sunnier Woodruff Park. I worry about the vibrancy of Atlanta's street life - Asher usually had two or three vendor carts, a couple buskers, and some street preachers, including the locally famous Preacher Love.
Asher isn't that big - two cops could observe the whole area, and regular bike cop patrols from the two police stations just blocks away could do a lot to cut down on crime. Are the APD just lazy? Or is this a bone for the bitchy office workers who have to deal with the area for a whole five minutes on their way to work?
Atlanta Police crackdown in Asher Square (because they are lazy ...
Aug 8, 2008 ... Atlanta Police crackdown in Asher Square (because they are lazy) ... keeping away panhandlers and drug dealers, I have a problem with police ...
forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2924479 - 84k
Police Major Khirus Williams, the new commander of downtowns Zone 5 precinct, said efforts by undercover officers had lead to approximately 44 arrests in the past 21 days. Police have also conducted more than 50 interventions to educate known panhandlers about the citys panhandling code in an attempt to prevent additional incidences.
- Police dressed like tourists arrest 40 panhandlers | ajc.com
Aug 22, 2008
... Atlanta police say a mini-
crackdown on aggressive
panhandling in the city's Peachtree Corridor has yielded 40 arrests in the past 20 days.
www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/08/22/atlanta_panhandle_arrests.html - 69k - Cached - Similar pages - Atlanta police say panhandler killed Fla. man - 09/03/2008 ...
Sep 3, 2008 ... Atlanta police have arrested a man they say was a panhandler who shot and killed a ... The shooting follows a crackdown on panhandling, ...
www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/669651.html - 51k
Asher Square is a pedestrian walkway in downtown Atlanta that connects the central Five Points MARTA station to Broad Street. It's narrow with tall offices on either side and often catches a breeze, making it a good place to sit outside if you're gonna sit outside all day.
I see their point about the bad element - a lot of street people hang out here and sell drugs, I've smelled pot in the middle of the day, and if you don't know how to deal with panhandlers it can be intimidating.
This crackdown is clearly all about image, though. Asher Square was one of the more pleasant places for street people to sit around. The people who are displaced from Asher will go around the block and hang out in already overcrowded and much sunnier Woodruff Park. I worry about the vibrancy of Atlanta's street life - Asher usually had two or three vendor carts, a couple buskers, and some street preachers, including the locally famous Preacher Love.
Williams said his office has been inundated with complaints about panhandling since he became the commander of Zone 5 in June. Williams said he crafted an idea for a 30-day blitz on panhandlers to help root out the problem.
In interviews earlier in August, hospitality officials said City Hall, hospitality leaders and Atlanta police were quietly launching a new initiative to curtail aggressive panhandling, which officials say makes visitors feel unsafe and hurts efforts to attract tourism and business, particularly to downtown.
The effort involves an increase in law enforcement presence including the use of undercover officers increasing the involvement of downtown business owners in combating the problem and educating the public about aggressive panhandlers tactics, police and tourism officials said.
An August 2005 law banned verbal requests for money in certain locations downtown. The ordinance also made it illegal citywide to panhandle after dark or near places like ATMs and pay phones. Punishment goes on a sliding scale from a warning on first offense, to referral to a resource center on a second offense, and up to one-month confinement for additional offenses.
The city has had some difficulty prosecuting panhandlers because of a lack of witnesses. Victims often are visitors to the city and cannot be counted on to testify at trial. Using undercover officers allows for ready-made witnesses, police have said.
Though the 30-day blitz by undercover officers is nearly completed, Williams said officers would not back down, and undercover stings will be ongoing.
(6) Comments
Diane Duquette August 26, 2008 1:21PM ESTHaving worked some with homeless people, many won't go to shelters. Also shelters now do drug testing and turn people away. Many on the street are mentally ill. It is definitely a problem. At the corner of North Ave. and W. Peachtree by All Saints Episcopal church, it is a daily problem.
Linda Williamson August 26, 2008 11:18AM ESTWhy does the city, charities or companies located in downtown area not do more to help the people that do not have shelter? These people sleep under bridges and have no place to go - if you had nothing, no resources, no hope -you would panhandle too! I think the city needs to work on the source of the issue instead of continuing to arrest these poor people who need a hand up. The "problem" is not panhandling - panhandling is a result of the homeless issue in ATL - that is the "problem" that we must address. Mrs. Mayor????
michael benoit August 25, 2008 6:33PM ESTI applaud the effort, but more areas of the city are dealing with this problem than just downtown. My fear is that this "sting" operation will just shift the problem from one police precinct to another.
Holly Bounds August 25, 2008 4:29PM ESTI applaud the effort. Now if they would force 378 Peachtree, LLC to clean up that building at the corner of Ivan Allen and Peachtree, the panhandlers wouldn't have such a convenient place to sleep (even closer than P'tree and Pine) and maybe they would move on.
Gary Jones August 25, 2008 4:10PM ESTWell I hope it works and it is not just another P.R. Move. As I set here at the corner bakery( Peachtree & Baker ) every day you can see the same old crew harass the locals ( particularly the women ) and of course scare the wits out of those going down Baker to the Aquarium from Peachtree -the police can only do so much -get rid of the Pine Street problem -and vote out of office those judges who don't have to put up with the problem. Ban the ones from downtown who have two arrests at the same location.
Brad Davis August 25, 2008 3:23PM ESTGood move that is long overdue.
Woodruff Park is 500 feet from Asher Square.
Google the corner of Marietta and Broad, and check it out in street view. You can see Asher Square in a relatively unbusy period, and if you look at the corner of Peachtree and Walton you can see Woodruff Park completely empty in what appears to be a cold fall evening. Normally that gazebo corner with the statue in Woodruff would be completely full of people playing cards or trying to sell stuff.
edit: I didn't answer your question but yes, it is the same jurisdiction.
By Larry Copeland and Charisse Jones, USA TODAY
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