CITY BACKS DOWN ON LAKE EOLA CHAIRS & TABLES

COMMENTARY

CITY BACKS DOWN; RESTORES PUBLIC'S ACCESS TO CHAIRS & TABLES@LAKE EOLA

In a surprise development, late this afternoon, after getting a few media calls--WFTV-Channel 9, WDBO-AM (580), Orlando Weekly, the City of Orlando backed down. From now on, everyone, not just those who care to pay for the privilege, will be able to use the tables and chairs at the Lake Eola Park picnic area. The "No Trespassing" signs have even been taken down.

The City, naturally, tried to get us to believe that this whole situation had been a "mistake" or a "misunderstanding." They even went so far as to blame a park ranger for deciding to padlock the fence gates. How pathetic. We know better, of course. The changes, including the padlocks, to the picnic area that initiated this latest skirmish between the City and Orlando Food Not Bombs and homeless activists have two possible sources. One is the Mayor's Office; the other is the Downtown Development Board. Take your pick. Both are determined to leave no stone unturned when it comes to finding measures they believe will make the homeless feel unwelcome downtown. To them human beings and human needs and rights are unimportant compared to helping developers, gentrifiers and businesspeople make more money.

This time, however, the City did something to the homeless that also greatly deprived and inconvenienced the citizens who live in the Eola Heights and Thornton Park neighborhoods. That may have begun to erode support for future inhumane and unnecessary measures that further criminalize homelessness.

Note: Articles from Channel 9 are below the pictures.







###

http://www.wftv.com/news/14211553/detail.html

City Of Orlando Unlocks Gate At Park After Facing Questions

POSTED: 3:40 pm EDT September 26, 2007
UPDATED: 5:22 pm EDT September 26, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The city of Orlando made changes after Eyewitness News started asking questions about a controversial decision to lock up picnic tables and chairs at Lake Eola Park.

The city says the new fence around a public picnic area has nothing to do with the homeless feeding that goes on there every Wednesday, but some people don't buy it and only Wednesday afternoon did the city agreed to unlock the gates that were keeping everyone out.

The new black metal fence came with a bold message, telling people they are not allowed inside on the blue picnic tables and chairs at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando. There were even padlocks on the gates to make sure.

"I don't understand why," Jennifer Tussel told Eyewitness News.

She came to Lake Eola Park to spend some time outdoors with her baby, Violet.

"We should be able to sit there. I don't see why not. We work hard every day," Tussel said.

The city said a farmer's market that operates there on Sundays got a permit to serve beer and wine, but an area had to be gated off for people to drink. The park manager told Eyewitness News the gates were to remain locked on the other days to prevent vandalism.

"Taxpayers obviously pay for these, why shouldn't they be available to everybody?" Eyewitness News reporter Eric Rasmussen asked Lake Eola Park Manager Leo Falcon.

"They are available, if they want to rent it, they can rent it," he said, laughing.

But after asking that question, city officials said the locks would come off and the "no trespassing" signs would come down. They insist the fence had nothing to do with an on-going battle to stop homeless feeding at the park, but homeless advocates say everyone suffers.

"The people who live in this neighborhood and other parts of Orlando pay taxes to build and maintain this park and all of a sudden they're being deprived of the use of one of the amenities of this park and we think that's wrong," said Ben Markeson, an advocate for the homeless.

The city told Eyewitness News the decision to permanently lock up the area was a mistake and the gates should remain open.

Copyright 2007 by wftv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.wftv.com/news/14209011/detail.html

City Fences Off Picnic Area That Group Uses To Feed Homeless

POSTED: 11:24 am EDT September 26, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A controversial group that feeds the homeless claims the city of Orlando fenced off a picnic area at Lake Eola to keep them from helping the hungry.

A "no trespassing" sign was posted on the black metal fence that now surrounds the picnic tables in the park.

The group [Orlando] Food Not Bombs believes the fence was put up to keep them and the homeless out.

The city has not yet commented on why the fence was put up.

###

source: Orlando Weekly blog

SO THERE ARE TWO OPTIONS

Either the people who run City Hall are effectively, deficiently retarded, or they're trying really, really hard to reclaim this city's rightful place on the National Coalition for the Homeless' annual list of meanest cities. Between the repeat crackdowns on people whose sole crime is feeding people who otherwise would go without food, to banning panhandlers from begging at night, and this, you get the sense that Dyer and Co. are doing their level best to eradicate the city's homeless population from their downtown white yuppie paradise, which is going to shit anyway with the rest of the goddamned overpriced condo market.

If you're too lazy to follow that link, don't worry. Here's the gist: Orlando Food Not Bombs, as bombastic and petulant and annoyingly hippie as they are, has been feeding homeless people in Lake Eola Park for the last couple years, despite the city's best efforts to force them out (including an arrest, which I wrote about here). Some genius under Dyer's employ - though the city hasn't returned my calls to tell me who, exactly - came up with a brilliant solution to the FNB "problem": Fence off Lake Eola Park, and require a permit to use the picnic tables.

Get a permit. To use a public park. The city's premier, spotlight park. In the middle of the day.

You read that right. We'll be putting up pictures here soon.

It didn't take long for this "plan" to dissemble. In fact, it took about one media report, which aired on Channel 9, for the city to, um, reassess or something. I fielded a phone call a few minutes back from FNB dude Ben Markeson, who informed me that the city has opened the gates and claims it was all some big misunderstanding or something and they really didn't want to keep the homeless out, except that, of course, they do.

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling slightly embarrassed to live here. More details forthcoming.

Posted by: Jeffrey Billman on 9/26/2007 3:17:28 PM

City's Arrogance Knows No Bounds

Released Sept. 24, 2007

City's Arrogance Knows No Bounds As It Restricts Access to Lake Eola Picnic Tables to Paying "Customers"

The City of Orlando once again has shown that it will stop at nothing to drive the homeless out of public spaces such as parks and to try to stop groups that help them from using public spaces to do so. To achieve this goal, it is willing to inconvenience citizens and deny them access to the public amenities that their tax dollars pay for.

Within the last few days, the City has finished erecting a fence around the trees in the center of the picnic area at Lake Eola Park (the corner of Central and Osceola). It has placed the tables and chairs that formerly were on the circular brick walkway of the picnic area into the new fenced-off area and has put padlocks on the fence gates. It also has posted "No Trespassing" signs on two sides of the fence. Our understanding is that from now on only those who have paid rent to use the picnic area will be entitled to use the tables and chairs.

Orlando Food Not Bombs has been sharing every Wednesday at the Lake Eola picnic area for more than two years. It has continued to do so despite the fact that the City last year passed an ordinance that basically bans food sharings inside Lake Eola Park and more than three dozen other downtown parks. In recent months, Orlando Food Not Bombs has been joined at its sharings by other local groups who also bring food because of their desire to help the homeless, to show solidarity with FNB and to express their opposition to the ordinance. (OFNB is a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against the "large groups feeding" ordinance that will come to trial in June of 2008.) The City is, of course, greatly mistaken if it thinks that this petty action will keep homeless people out of the park, or deter Orlando Food Not Bombs and its allies from sharing food with them.

OFNB's sharings only last around 2-2 1/2 hours once a week; however, the City is so determined that the homeless get the message they are not welcome in downtown Orlando that it apparently doesn't give a damn about how its actions affect other citizens. Thanks to the arrogance of the Dyer administration those who live and work near the park have one less place where they can consume a bag lunch, rest, read or whatever. although Orlando's citizens pay taxes to build and maintain public facilities such as the picnic area the City is telling them that iif they wish to use this particular public facility they must rent it. Civic boosters and elected officials like to talk about how Orlando is on the cusp of becoming a "world class" city, but it's hard to see how citizens can have the sort of lifestyle that would seem to be in keeping with that exalted status when they city keeps restricting how they can use public parks. We are sure some Orlando residents will find this sort of treatment to be unacceptable and outrageous, and will wish to express themselves to the public officials who are supposed to represent citizens in the halls of government.

We hope that Orlandoans will realize that the changes to the park, besides being a high-handed way to treat those to whom the park supposedly belongs, represents something even uglier. It is another shameful attempt to practice discrimination against homeless people by seeking to deny them access to public facilities based upon the fact that they are destitute and homeless. Creating a category of second-class citizenship for poor and homeless people should not be tolerated by anyone who believes in equality, democracy and basic decency.

Contacts for Orlando public officials.

MAYOR BUDDY DYER
Phone: 407-246-2221
Fax: 407-246-2842
E-mail: buddy.dyer@cityoforlando.net

COMMISSIONER PHIL DIAMOND
407-246-2001
407-246-3010 Fax
phil.diamond@cityoforlando.net

COMMISSIONER BETTY T. WYMAN
407-246-2002
407-246-3010 Fax
bwyman@cityoforlando.net

COMMISSIONER ROBERT STUART
407-246-2003
407-246-3010 Fax
Robert.Stuart@cityoforlando.net

COMMISSIONER PATTY SHEEHAN
407-246-2004
407-246-3010 Fax
Patty.Sheehan@cityoforlando.net

Commissioner Daisy W. Lynum
407-246-2005
407-246-3010 Fax
Daisy.Lynum@cityoforlando.net

Commissioner Samuel B. Ings
407-246-2006
407-246-3010 Fax
Samuel.Ings@cityoforlando.net

Commissioner Stuart on Panhandling Ordinance

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/orl-forumword21_1207sep21,0,3475971.story

Stuart: Let's look for real solutions

Robert F. Stuart
(published) September 21, 2007

For the past few weeks, the city of Orlando has been involved in the continuing issue of panhandling. I, for one, welcome these types of discussions as they lead to a more clear understanding of the roles of our local government and of our citizens.

Panhandling, like many other similar issues, has people expressing their opinions. Based upon my experience as a city commissioner and director of an established, downtown outreach ministry, let me share some facts.

First, many continue to say that panhandling is directly linked to homelessness. While many who engage in panhandling may be homeless, we simply don't have any sound analysis of the population of panhandlers. It is true that the best homelessness research reports that as many as 8 percent of our homeless population have engaged in panhandling within the past 30 days. As to the hard numbers of panhandlers who are homeless, we simply don't know.

Second, panhandlers don't make a lot of money. According to some similar research in Pittsburgh and other Midwestern cities, most panhandlers make at the most $70 per week in this activity. Most of us have heard the stories of those who claim to have made $30,000 or more, tax-free, panhandling. While these stories may be true, they are, at best, very rare and hardly a sound example on which to develop public policy.

Third, givers need other alternatives. Since we know that panhandling, or begging as others have called it, will continue, it seems practical that our local communities provide alternatives for those willing to give. In places like Pittsburgh, Memphis and even Winnipeg, local downtown communities have advertised to "donors" about those in need and offered options, such as giving to local agencies willing to help. Drying up these resources from donors will have a significant impact on those looking to take advantage of our citizens and visitors through panhandling.

As I reviewed this issue, it became apparent to me that the city has ample ordinances already on the books to curtail aggressive panhandling. Prior to the current ordinance's passage, it was already unlawful in the city of Orlando to panhandle in public parks and venues, on private property without owner permission, within parking lots and garages, and in downtown -- outside the blue boxes -- anytime, day or night.

Here's my singular concern. If we are to become an even better city, then we must look for a real solution to all of the issues surrounding panhandling by seeking other alternatives to complement the enforcement portion of the equation. Discipline and order require both the "hammer" of enforcement and the "carrot" of viable alternatives for those who choose to donate in this way.

I'm buoyed by the public and private comments of Mayor Buddy Dyer and my fellow commissioners, Patty Sheehan and Daisy Lynum, who have each encouraged the city to explore better alternatives for our donors.

Let's take this opportunity to develop similar ideas to other great cities, and create a downtown environment that will be a great place to live, work and play for our community.

Robert F. Stuart is the Orlando city commissioner for District 3.

Good Orlando Weekly Article on Panhandling Ordinance

Source: Orlando Weekly

(published) 9/20/2007

BEYOND THE BOX
Another questionable move in Orlando's war on panhandling

By Billy Manes

In the vacant expanse of Church Street Station, a wheelchair-bound veteran who refers to himself as "Sarge" bakes in the sun on the sidewalk, a plastic cup clutched in front of him.

"I just do this for food. I only get $10 in food stamps," Sarge says. "I served this country!"

By being on the street and asking for money, Sarge is already pushing his luck with the city of Orlando, which confines such activities to "blue boxes," specific areas delineated by blue paint where cash solicitation is allowed. Now he will find his actions further restricted. A new amendment to the city's panhandling ordinance – Chapter 43 of the city code – passed on second reading Sept. 17 forbidding panhandling from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily.

And it is only the latest in a long history of city attempts to curtail panhandling in Orlando, efforts that landed the city on the National Coalition for the Homeless' list of the 20 meanest cities in America in 2003.

Orlando's war on panhandling dates to the 1990s when an initial ban – one that was similar to those being challenged in court in other cities – was superseded by a 1997 law requiring panhandlers to attain permits.

In 2000 the city came up with the blue boxes: 35 three-by-15 spots, outlined in blue, designated as downtown panhandling zones. And last year, the city made national news with a feeding ordinance designed to restrict homeless gatherings in public areas.

The group-feeding ordinance is facing legal challenges, and most of the blue boxes are no longer visible. A stroll along the downtown stretch of Orange Avenue reveals streaks of paint on the sidewalk – many of them blue – to mark irrigation, power and construction projects, but no designated panhandling zones.

"This is one here," says Sarge, pointing to a barely there blue border on Church Street, within which he sits. "There's one down there under the bridge, there's one in front of the courthouse by the Lymmo pick-up and one behind there near the parking garage."

But the blue-box ordinance is still in effect, even if you can't find one.

"There were originally 35 of those blue boxes, and a lot of those are now in construction zones," says Orlando Police Department Sgt. Russ Waters. "And if they're in construction zones, then the boxes are pretty much gone because they’ve torn up all of the sidewalks. And some of the paint has faded. However, we are still enforcing that they have to be in the blue box." Waters clarifies that if someone is asking for money where a box once was, but the lines are no longer visible, officers will not penalize the panhandler.

"As a result of the construction (both building and transportation improvements) some of the blue boxes have been impacted," says city spokeswoman Heather Allebaugh in an e-mail. "In addition, the [Downtown Development Board] is aware that some of the blue boxes have faded. Now that construction is beginning to level out, the DDB is in the process of inventorying the blue boxes and surveying any impacts. In the coming weeks, they will be meeting to refresh the blue boxes."

The new law piggybacks on the blue boxes with a proposed nighttime ban on begging, even in designated zones. Once again, the goal is to keep downtown user-friendly by diminishing "aggressive" panhandling behavior. The new law is rooted in citizen complaints. Orlando enlists an undercover "downtown transient detail" to catch offenders that has resulted in 287 arrests since December 2005 (eight of them over 22 hours of patrolling this August). The punishment for panhandlers can be severe as a $500 fine and/or 60 days in jail, but typically isn’t.

"The fine is whatever the court determines at the time, but a lot of times they don't necessarily get anything other than time served, realistically, because they don't have any money," says Waters. "It’s not a ticket, it's a second-degree misdemeanor, because it’s an ordinance and they violated the ordinance."

Waters says that after dark is when the panhandlers become more aggressive, because that's when there are more people downtown drinking.

"I mean, a lot of people are fearful of transients," he says.

That includes members of city council. At the Sept. 10 meeting, council members Patty Sheehan and Sam Ings couched their support of the new ban in terms of frightening personal encounters with beggars.

"We get called mean because we don't want people chased and we don't want people harassed," said Sheehan.

Commissioners added that the city provides adequate social services downtown to address the needs of the homeless.

Commissioner Robert Stuart, the only council member to vote against the new ordinance, suggests that this is a bad ordinance at the wrong time. He believes that ordinances already on the books are enough to protect citizens from aggressive panhandling.

Now that the new law has passed, the city can almost certainly count on a challenge.

"I think that the city of Orlando is trying to be on the cutting edge of how far it can push it as far as the restricting of the homeless," says Glenn Katon, director of the central region for the ACLU. "I think it's continuing that."

Katon suspects that there may be some holes in the city's ordinance; notably the poorly marked blue-box zones.

But the bigger issue may be free speech.

"The government cannot limit speech simply because it finds it unpleasant – that's unconstitutional," said Rosalind Matos, a South Florida staff attorney for the ACLU, in a June press release regarding the group's challenge of a Miami Beach ordinance.

"What surprises me about the whole thing is that with all of the uproar and controversy that's likely to result from this, why is the city so intent on pushing the envelope?" says Katon. "Why not just go with some normal restrictions? They're willing to take on the potential challenges in court and protests and all that; is it really a worthwhile trade-off? This goes beyond the constitutional component of it. But that's the part that I find so stupid, frankly."

Katon says the city's contention that it already provides adequate services for the homeless downtown is beside the point.

"If the services that they're offering downtown are so adequate, why are people out panhandling?" he says. "I mean, is it because they like to be out in the heat or all their needs are met by these services? To me, that's great if they are providing services. That's a nice step. ... If it's constitutionally permissible, it's constitutionally permissible regardless of whether you're giving them vouchers to the Hilton. People have a right to be out there and say, 'I'm hungry, could you spare some change?' If that doesn't comport with their vision of the 'City Beautiful,' well, that's too bad."

bmanes@orlandoweekly.com

Orlando bans night panhandling but fails to enforce day rules

source: orlandosentinel.com/orl-beg18sep18,0,7715362.story

PANHANDLING CRACKDOWN
No begging after dark
Orlando bans night panhandling but fails to enforce day rules

Mark Schlueb
Sentinel Staff Writer

(published) September 18, 2007

Orlando beefed up its panhandling rules Monday by outlawing begging after dark, but a review by the Orlando Sentinel has found that the city hasn't been sticking to the rules already on the books.

Monday's action means those caught panhandling anywhere in the city between sunset and sunrise will face fines of as much as $500, up to 60 days in jail, or both. Mayor Buddy Dyer and police Chief Mike McCoy said the measure approved 6-1 by the City Council makes Orlando safer.

"The concept is ... that you don't have strangers coming up to you after dark asking for money," McCoy said. "It frightens most people."

The nighttime ban is the city's latest effort to crack down on panhandling without banning it, which courts in other jurisdictions have found unconstitutional. Since 2000, downtown panhandlers have been allowed to beg only in a "panhandling zone," blue boxes painted on the sidewalk in about three dozen locations.

But the Sentinel review found that most of those blue boxes no longer exist. Of the 36 boxes painted downtown seven years ago, only five are still visible. Most were never repainted and disappeared or faded to a vague blue smudge. Many were lost to the condo and office building boom.

"They're all gone, with all the new sidewalks and construction," said Chester Kaczneski, 38, who was panhandling Monday morning at Robinson Street and Orange Avenue -- where there used to be a blue box -- after failing to find work in a labor pool.

"I'm looking for work," he said. "But if they catch you out of a box, you're going to jail."

The city's panhandling ordinance also requires the Orlando Police Department to hand out maps showing panhandling zone locations upon request. But a clerk at police headquarters said the department long ago ran out of the maps and no longer distributes them.

Courts have ruled panhandling is free speech that can't be outlawed entirely. An attorney who represents the homeless said the city's ordinance might be on shaky ground because officials haven't maintained the blue boxes.

"If they're going to regulate the time, the place or the manner you express yourself, they have to provide an alternative. For the government to promise an alternative and not follow through raised constitutionality problems," said Jackie Dowd of Legal Advocacy at Work, a nonprofit that provides free legal services to the homeless.

Dyer said there have been few arrests for begging outside the blue boxes because police have instead focused on "violent or aggressive" panhandlers. Arrest statistics were not immediately available.

Dowd wasn't convinced.

"My clients tell me over and over about being hassled for not being in the blue boxes or sitting down," she said. "The police use the blue boxes as leverage to move them along."

Officials said they are aware that many of the boxes are gone. They plan to repaint some and move others.

"It's to our advantage to have defined blue boxes," Dyer said. "We probably need to take a look at redesignating new ones."

The council approved the night ban, with Commissioner Robert Stuart dissenting. He argued that the city should concentrate on educating residents to donate to homeless services rather than panhandlers.

"My problem is, there is no alternative today other than enforcement," said Stuart, executive director of a Christian charity. "This issue needs to have something else that comes along with it."

Mark Schlueb can be reached at mschlueb@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5417.

•••

[Comment from Scott Maxwell's "Taking Names" column in the Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 18, 2007]


Don't pols beg, too?

The Orlando City Council passed its no-panhandling-after-dark law Monday, brushing aside free-speech arguments that people have a constitutional right to ask for money.

Mayor Buddy Dyer and the council may be right on the legal front. Still, it's kind of interesting to compare the way politicians in this town treat asking for money in very different ways.

Take, for instance, the reluctance to embrace serious campaign-finance reform. Apparently we live in a community where politicians think free-speech laws were meant to protect special interests' right to give them thousands of campaign dollars -- but not the right of the destitute to ask for spare change.

W. Palm Beach to Bar Some Handouts for Homeless

source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/local_news/epaper/2007/09/15/s1b_minor_0915.html


City set to bar some handouts for homeless

By Emily Minor

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

(published) Saturday, September 15, 2007

The word "homeless" isn't anywhere in the proposal, but everybody knows it's the homeless they're talking about.

West Palm Beach commissioners are about to outlaw feeding the homeless at three downtown spots. No more free "food distribution" at the Centennial Fountain, the library or Meyer Amphitheatre.


And I don't think they're referring to me handing out snacks to my family.

"It says everything but 'stop feeding the homeless,'" said City Commissioner Kimberly Mitchell.

For years, various groups of mostly faith-based individuals have provided meals downtown, and the outreach was always noticeable because the fountain, library lawn and amphitheatre are popular play areas.

Years ago, it was students from Palm Beach Atlantic University, the Christian-based college a few blocks from the library, that did the feedings.

Gary Richmond, the administrator at First Presbyterian Church of West Palm Beach - where the homeless are still fed every Monday night - said the student ministry started doing bag lunches and handing them out at the fountain on Wednesday nights.

"But they got told by the city to get out of there," Richmond said.

"They moved to CityPlace, but the management there said, 'You have to move on.'''

Homeless and the just plain hungry

Eventually, the PBAU students wound up at Richmond's church at 301 S. Olive Ave, where the church added a Tuesday-night feeding that the students handled. The church and the college aren't affiliated.

Richmond said the college kids eventually faded out and the church added Tuesday night to its program. It lasted until this past August, when the church did away with it for money reasons.

"We started this program six years ago, and back then it was 25 to 30 street people," Richmond said.

But things change.

Richmond said their Monday dinners began to attractlow-income individuals and families who knew about the free food. The meals are prepared at the church kitchen, and these days the Monday night dinners can draw as many as 150 - many of them construction workers, he said.

"The workers knew there was a meal, and they started walking over," said Richmond, who said they're always looking for volunteers and donations.

Meanwhile, at the fountain, other groups kept the feedings going on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and business owners - already hard-pressed to convince customers that downtown West Palm is safe - didn't much like it.

Some understand businesses' concerns

Lela Jordan, the youth and family services coordinator for Vickers Houseanda longtime advocate for the homeless, said this ordinance - which is scheduled for a public hearing on Sept. 24 - has been a long time coming.

"You really can't blame them," said Jordan, about the worried business owners.

Frankly, Jordan says all those homeless individuals around all those kids made her nervous - and not for the reasons you might think.

She worried about her homeless clientele.

"One time I came around the corner of the library and there was a homeless individual relieving himself," she said. "That poor homeless guy could have been put in jail for life for exposing himself.

"I think this will keep everybody safe."

Plus, Jordan knows you have to give and take.

Me? I'd be shooting my mouth off about how wrong this is.

It's a public space. Of course they can feed the homeless there. Stupid politicians. Nutty rules. Heartless businessmen.

But Jordan sees the bigger picture, the greater good.

Which is why she's Lela Jordan and I'm not.

[Mote: Another of the groups that would be affected by this ordinance is West Palm Food Not Bombs.]

City Council Approves New Panhandling Ban

source: Orlando Sentinel website blog

Nighttime panhandlers are persona non grata

posted by Mark Schlueb on Sep 17, 2007 4:39:22 PM

The Orlando City Council banned panhandling after dark anywhere in the city limits.

Commissioners gave the sunset-to-sunrise ban final approval after hearing Police Chief Mike McCoy and Mayor Buddy Dyer describe it as a public safety measure.

[Comment: It seems like every new measure the City adopts against the homeless is called "a public safety measure" in an effort to justify it. It would help if the press would ask officials to cite facts and figures to back up their "public safety" claims.]

Commissioner Robert Stuart voted against the measure, arguing that the city should instead concentrate on educating residents to donate to homeless service agencies rather than to panhandlers.

[Comment: Kudos to Commissioner Stuart for once again exhibiting common sense and compassion. He also was one of only two "no" votes against Orlando's anti-homeless food sharing ordinance.]]

NOTE: A previous version of this post incorrectly said the ban would be in effect from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

SPEAK OUT AGAINST PANHANDLING ORDINANCE

S.T.O.P.--Stop the Ordinance Partnership http://stop-orlando.org strongly encourages local concerned citizens and homeless advocates to attend tomorrow's (Mon., Sept. 17) Orlando City Council meeting, which starts at 2 p.m., to speak out against the City's new panhandling ordinance. This measure bans panhandling anywhere within the City limits "after sunset or before sunrise." It is being justified by exaggerated claims about "aggressive panhandling." What it really does is give the Dyer administration and the Orlando police another tool which they can use to harass and punish homeless people by further making their status as homeless people a crime. It sends the homeless the message that they are not welcome in Orlando. It stigmatizes the homeless and marginalizes them, which encourages people to see them as less than equals, as people who are inferior and socially unacceptable and undeserving of respect and dignity. This in turn will lead to further instances of violence against the homeless (a real problem throughout Florida including Orlando).

This measure attacks a symptom of homelessness rather than the problem's roots causes--low wage jobs, not enough affordable housing for working poor people, the lack of a homeless drop-in center (where they could get services), the chronic shortage of shelter beds in Central Florida (2,000 for a homeless population estimated at 9,000), a shortage of mental health and substance abuse treatment programs for the homeless, etc. It also represents another black eye for the City of Orlando since it shows that Orlando--at least its politicians, its civic elite and the developers and business interests they represent--lacks compassion for the least among us and would rather push them aside than provide the sort of substantive assistance they need to become self-supporting and domiciled. This ordinance is authoritarian to its core--it criminalizes free speech (asking for alms or charity) and takes away the autonomy of the homeless to survive as best they can without breaking the law since giving money to a panhandler is totally consensual; this ordinance seeks to change that by interfering with interactions between panhandlers and the panhandled and seeks to make an act of compassion--giving spare change--into a socially unacceptable act, which is wrong. Finally this ordinance shows that while Orlando may aspire to be a "world-class city" (one of the rationales for spending more than $1 billion on the three venues), it's really a small town at heart that wants its downtown to resemble main street at Disney World rather than the urban corridors one finds in real cities, teeming with people from all walks of life.

Enforcement of this ordinance will require the use of scarce police resources that could be better used to deal with an ever-increasing violent crime rate in Orlando and will not result in any improvement in the quality of life for residents or visitors in downtown Orlando. It will not even probably noticably reduce the level of panhandling downtown since laws designed to prohibit certain behaviors have a dismal track record of compliance (drug laws and America's failed experiement with the prohibition of alcohol are two good examples). Undoubtedly, many of the homeless people arrested and convicted for violating this ordinance will serve a few weeks to two months in the county jail, using taxpayers' money to incarcerate non-violent offenders who pose no threat to society. Those arrested will undoubtedly accumulate fines (and penalties for not paying them) that will pose another barrier to their ability to reintegrate into the mainstream of society.

Speaking against this ordinance is not going to change the outcome of the second vote (only one commissioner, Robert Stuart [to his credit] voted against this measure at first reading). However, it's still important that our voices be heard. The City Council and Mayor Dyer need to know that they're actions are being monitored by citizens who believe that respect and compassion for the homeless and respect for civil liberties and finding real solutions--ones that are humane, effective, and constitutional--to the problems of homelessness in our community are important.

Pleas be warned that speaking out against this ordinance will require some patience since it will require sitting first sitting through many other items on the Council agenda. It may not come up for discussion, citizen input and a vote until at least some time between 3-4 p.m.

The ordinance (which is described as "An ordinance amending Chapter 43 of the City Code - Section 43.86(5) and Section 43.87(2)(c). Time of Panhandling") is the LAST item on the agenda (under the heading Ordinances/2nd Read). It comes after the Opening (which includes the invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, etc.); awards presentations; Mayor's Update (which has items A-L); Hearings/Ordinances/2nd Read; and Ordinances/1st Read.

For more information, e-mail stop-orlando@stop-orlando.org or call 407.252.1379.

Panhandlers Still Haunt City Hall

orlandosentinel.com/news/columnists/orl-maxwell1307sep13,0,7235642.column

Panhandlers still haunt City Hall

Scott Maxwell

TAKING NAMES

(published) September 13, 2007

Once again, Buddy Dyer and the Orlando City Council are trying to deal with the complicated issue of homelessness in the simplest possible way -- by arresting the destitute.

This time, the council is expected to give final approval Monday to make it a crime to panhandle after dark.

That comes on the heels of Dyer and company making it a crime for volunteers to feed groups of people in a public park. And after making it a crime to sit down on sidewalks.

If there's a way to throw poor people in jail, Orlando seems interested.


The city's willing to throw resources at the matter, too. Undercover cops have been used, to nab not only panhandlers, but also those who perpetrate the heinous crime of ladling out unauthorized stew.

To be fair, Buddy has simply followed suit. Before he ever took office, the City Beautiful tried everything from banning panhandling to forcing beggars into little blue boxes.

And yet still, we have homeless people. In fact, Dyer claims the problem is as bad as ever.

Doesn't that say something?

It does to Robert Stuart.

The Orlando commissioner whose full-time job is running the Christian Service Center was the only member of the council who opposed the latest panhandling law.

"We take the easy way," he said. "I mean, it's easy to pass an ordinance. What's hard is to look for a solution."

Let's be clear. Nobody likes panhandlers.

When I'm walking with my 4- and 7-year-old, I pull them a little closer or cross to the other side of the street if I see one in our path.

But afterward, I often think that, whatever fear or discomfort I just encountered, the person asking for the money has it even worse.

And then you start to wonder: How can we change that?

I know that Buddy has asked himself that question.

He and his wife have personally helped the Coalition for the Homeless raise money. And he was intimately involved in the creation of the Regional Commission on Homelessness.

The regional commission -- which involves bringing experts together from throughout Central Florida -- is a great idea. In fact, it's such a good idea that Stuart couldn't figure out why there was such a rush to pass another law before the commission completed its work.

"We've got a regional commission," he said. "Why don't we listen to them?"

Dyer said Wednesday that he didn't think he needed to wait, arguing that panhandling doesn't have "anything to do with homelessness" and that a large percentage of beggars go back to their homes every night. I'm sure some would debate that.

But Dyer also said he was ready to take action to protect residents -- and that if he waited for consensus on everything, little would get done.

To truly make a difference, however, there has to be more than punitive measures.

According to one report I saw, 41 percent of the homeless are families with children; 23 percent are mentally ill; and 5 percent are minors without parents.

Jail cells aren't the solution for all those people.

That report, by the way, came from City Hall.

It was prepared for and given to Dyer a few years ago.

The report stressed that the city should look for long-term goals "and not only short-term solutions."

It recommended more substance-abuse programs and mental-health treatment. It talked of job training and affordable housing.

All of those suggestions drove home the same point -- that helping the homeless learn new skills, kick a drug habit or get the right medication can be crucial to ending a cycle of destitution that jail cells alone never can.

And yet many of those goals remain unfulfilled -- most of them, in fact, Stuart said.

We have, however, come up with new ways to arrest people for feeding the homeless or asking for spare change.

And yes, new laws were, in fact, recommended in that report. Even Stuart, who served on that committee, says as much.

"I think that was the 21st suggestion," he said. "Out of 23."

Orlando City Council Approves Panhandling Restrictions

orlandosentinel.com/community/news/conway/orl-beg1107sep11,0,4226728.story

No panhandling in the dark, Orlando says
City moves to limit begging -- ACLU says it can't

Mark Schlueb

Sentinel Staff Writer

(published) September 11, 2007

If you need spare change, don't wait until after dark to ask for it.

The Orlando City Council voted 5-1 Monday to grant preliminary approval to an ordinance that would prohibit panhandling anywhere within city limits between sunset and sunrise.

For the past seven years, the city has confined beggars downtown to a few dozen "panhandling zones," which are 3-by-15-foot rectangles painted on the sidewalk.

Police Chief Mike McCoy said the nighttime ban is a matter of public safety.

"We ought to be able to go outside without being worried about being accosted after dark," McCoy said. "It makes it a lot safer for everyone involved to limit it to the daytime hours."

A representative of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida spoke against the proposal, arguing that it is unconstitutional.

"It tramples the most basic and fundamental of rights that are guaranteed by the constitution: the right to free speech," Matt de Vlieger said.

In 1997, the city began requiring would-be panhandlers to go to police headquarters to obtain a special permit before asking for money. When courts began overturning similar laws in other cities, Orlando dropped that rule in favor of the painted panhandling boxes.

Sean Kane, who has been battling the city's anti-panhandling efforts for years, predicted the nighttime ban would be overturned if challenged in court. The city's justification for the ordinance -- complaints about aggressive panhandlers -- doesn't hold up, Kane said.

"Everything we've listened to is anecdotal hyperbole," he said.

But city officials said other cities, such as Sarasota and Pittsburgh, have adopted nighttime bans. Orlando's original proposal was to ban panhandling from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., but the council changed it.

Commissioner Robert Stuart, executive director of the Christian Service Center, was the City Council's lone dissenter. He said the council should put off a decision until the Regional Commission on Homelessness, which was formed in June, issues its recommendations. Stuart also said the ban isn't necessary because there are already laws on the books to deal with aggressive and abusive panhandlers.

"I think this is a bad ordinance at the wrong time," Stuart said. "If people feel threatened today, they can call, and that situation can be taken care of."

But other commissioners said more needs to be done.

"We get called mean because we don't want people being chased, we don't want people being harassed, we don't want people being assaulted," Commissioner Patty Sheehan said. "I'm constantly getting panhandled, and it's scary."

The council is expected to grant final approval to the ban at its next meeting.

Mark Schlueb can be reached at 407-420-5417 or mschlueb@orlandosentinel.com.

Orlando May Further Restrict Panhandling

orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-mbeg0807sep08,0,3650433.story?coll=orl_tab01_layout

OrlandoSentinel.com

Orlando might ban nighttime begging
Reports of aggressive panhandling spur a push for the City Council to consider more limits.

Mark Schlueb | Sentinel Staff Writer

(published) September 8, 2007

First, Orlando made panhandlers apply for permits before asking for spare change. Then the city restricted downtown begging to a few dozen "panhandling zones."

On Monday, the City Council will be asked to consider the next step: an outright ban on panhandling at night.

"We get reports just about every day of a panhandler using abusive language or threatening people," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said Friday. "We want to be able to provide a safe environment in downtown and in the entire city."

The proposed ordinance, which if approved Monday would have to come before the council again for a final vote, would prohibit panhandlers from soliciting donations from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Those are generally some of the busiest times for panhandling, particularly downtown, which is flooded with bar and nightclub traffic into the early-morning hours.

Panhandlers who defy the rule would face a fine of as much as $500, up to 60 days in jail, or both.

Advocates for the homeless described it as another in a string of actions aimed at criminalizing homelessness.

"Another law targeting the homeless population is not going to work," said Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. "Unfortunately, people sometimes have to panhandle to survive."

Last summer, the city barred activists and church groups from feeding groups of more than 25 people in city parks without a special permit. Groups can get two permits per year. That rule was sparked by complaints from businesses around Lake Eola Park, where large groups of homeless people gathered for regular meals.

The city once prohibited panhandling altogether but backed away when courts began striking down similar laws as unconstitutional. So in 1997, the city passed a law requiring beggars to go to the police station for a permit before panhandling.

Three years later, the city did away with the permit system and painted 36 blue boxes on sidewalks. Now, panhandling is allowed downtown only within the 3-foot-by-15-foot rectangles.

Since then, Orlando has also made it illegal to sit or lie down on the sidewalk, and it has occasionally used undercover cops to nab beggars.

Although the blue boxes restrict panhandling only in downtown, the proposed nighttime ban would apply citywide.

Activist Ben Markeson said that instead of spending money to enforce panhandling and anti-feeding laws, the city should use the money to fund more alcohol- and substance-abuse treatment programs. That would reduce the homeless population, he said.

"They're trying to address the symptom of the problem rather than a root cause," said Markeson, a member of Orlando Food Not Bombs, a group challenging the feeding restrictions in court.

City officials say they are only reacting to complaints about aggressive panhandlers from downtown business owners, residents and workers.

At Orlando's Church Street Station, chef Mark Dollard said he supports the proposed ordinance because aggressive panhandling drives away his customers. Dollard ran Absinthe Bistro and Bar until recently and is now renovating the building to house his Brick & Fire Pizza and Wine Co.

"After dark, do you want someone coming up to you shaking a cup in your face? I'm spending 40 grand a month over here. I don't want panhandling," Dollard said.

Robert "Sarge" Kent was unobtrusively panhandling from inside a blue box next to the tracks on Church Street on Friday afternoon.

Kent, who uses a wheelchair and said he's a Vietnam veteran, said he panhandles because there's little of his disability check left after rent and utilities.

Still, Kent, 55, said he supports the nighttime ban.

"I don't come out here at night because it's dangerous," he said. "There are a lot of homeless people out here who are disrespectful, laying in front of businesses."

Mark Schlueb can be reached at mschlueb@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5417.

Resources:

National Coalition for the Homeless http://nationalhomeless.org

Orlando Food Not Bombs http://orlandofoodnotbombs.org

###

TEXT OF ORLANDO'S PROPOSED NEW PANHANDLING ORDINANCE

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 43, MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSES, OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ORLANDO BY
ADOPTION OF NEW SECTION 43.86(5), TIME OF PANHANDLING, AND BY ADDING NEW SECTION 43.87(2)(C), TIME OF PANHANDLING, TO PROHIBIT PANHANDLING THROUGHOUT THE CITY BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 7:00 P.M. AND 7:00 A.M.; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ORLANDO, FLORIDA:
SECTION ONE: Section 43.86, Chapter 43, of the Code of the City of Orlando be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows:
Sec. 43.86. Panhandling.
* * *
(5) Time of Panhandling
(a) It is unlawful for any person to panhandle, as defined in this Chapter, in the City limits of Orlando, between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7 a.m.
SECTION TWO: Section 43.87(2), Chapter 43, of the Code of the City of Orlando be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows:
Sec. 43.87. Solicitation and Off-Premises Canvassing on Public Property in the Downtown Core District of Orlando, Florida.
* * *
(2) Prohibitions
* * *
(C) Time of Panhandling: It is unlawful to panhandle, as defined in Section 43.86 of the City Code, between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in the Downtown Core District, including within designated exempt zones.
SECTION THREE: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct, and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion hereto.
SECTION FIVE: This ordinance shall take effect as provided by law.
ADVERTISED: , 2007.
READ FIRST TIME: , 2007.
READ SECOND TIME AND ADOPTED:

, 2007.


CITY OF ORLANDO, FLORIDA

ATTEST:

Mayor / Pro Tem

Alana C. Brenner, City Clerk

APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
for the use and reliance of the
City of Orlando, Florida, only.
, 2007.
City Attorney
Orlando, Florida