Urban neighborhoods bring urban challenges, and the challenge facing the merchants and customers at the
What do you do when panhandlers take up residence there?
“We have such a giving heart in
That’s because this particular group of panhandlers has a reputation, say
In one respect, this is nothing new.
What’s new this time, and especially since early spring, is that these guys aren’t colorful. They have become such an irritant that the cops have assigned two officers to include the shopping center on regular patrols, with an eye toward inhibiting the panhandlers. But given the legal, constitutional and bureaucratic issues involved, that may not be enough.
It’s not a crime to wander around city streets in a daze, no matter how many ordinances the mayor pushes through the City Council. All the police can do is issue a citation, and only if they actually catch someone in the act of panhandling.
Complicating matters even more, the
So what’s the neighborhood to do? The goal, Zesch says, is to make sure the panhandlers get the help they need, which will take them off the streets. The merchants also understand they’re probably going to have to do this without much more help from the cash-strapped police department (and many also understand that in the greater scheme of things, there isn’t much else the police can do). There has been some discussion of redrawing patrol division boundaries to include everything up to
Otherwise, the merchants know they will have to go it alone. Their plan has several points, including working with merchants in Deep Ellum, who have long had similar problems. Among the topics under discussion are helping to fund a homeless shelter, which could be part of the city’s 10-year plan to help the homeless get off the streets.
For the time being, though, the merchants are set on publicity — reminding their customers and other shopping center visitors that panhandling is illegal and that they shouldn’t give the panhandlers any money. Expect to see signs in stores and in the parking lots saying just that.
The easy solution, merchants say, would be to hire some rent-a-cops and run every undesirable out of the area. But that’s not really the neighborly thing to do or the