Enough is enough. I’m sick and tired of how a few individuals can’t seem to understand that homelessness is not a lifestyle choice. The homeless are Vietnam vets, parents of young children and sick people who just need a little help. They have every right to walk the streets of downtown. For those who think that moving Bethesda House up the hill will stop the homeless from walking Jay Street, rest assured they will be downtown, and it’s their right. Newbury Street, Rodeo Drive, Fifth Avenue, Piccadilly Circus, London, Georgetown’s M Street and even La Rue St. Catherine in Montreal, homes to the biggest names in the retail business (i.e. Armani, Hugo Boss, Cartier), have no problem with the homeless. Somehow Schenectady does. I have had the great pleasure to meet some of these people, who, by the way, will give you the shirt off their back. Some of them are decent and some are not. In general, they are harmless. To call these people beggars is shameful. I will accept a homeless person any day asking me for a quarter or a dollar, to which I can say yes or no. The beggars I have a problem with are those who have asked Metroplex to bankroll their businesses. The majority of them don’t even need it in the first place. As one downtown business person told me, and I quote: “So long as they keep throwing money at me, I’ll take it. It’s no skin off my back.” But when a person asks for a quarter, it’s a crime. Let’s see a quarter per day time sevens times 52 equals — anyone? Anyone? EMBAREK MESBAHI Schenectady
This person is correct in more ways than one.....we all know that just because someone has a home that is makes them more than someone without a permanent home....just look at the oval office with the blue dresses and cigars,,and it wasn't even their permanent home address..........
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Sorry senders, but I find homeless people who beg and chose to urinate in public very offensive. Blue dresses and cigars in the white house got the attention it deserved and collectively was acknowledged to be wrong. But bad behavior from the homeless is trying to be protected and explained away. That is nonsense!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
The homeless are what the government had deregulated back in the 80's.....those who need to be coralled and 'taken care of'---by what ever standards society sees fit----no different than current healthcare facilities for 'other issues'.....
Our children should walk downtown to see what choices NOT to make....that is if they do not have a 'mental disability'(alot of homeless do, otherwise why would someone choose that?) Brittany Spears might....she just has the money to keep her off the curbside.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Panhandlers prepare to leave hibernation First published: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Panhandling in downtown Schenectady has been a nagging problem for business owners and pedestrians for many years.
Everyone gets a break in the winter when the weather keeps most of the moochers at home. I'm on the streets a lot, so I'm used to the beggars, but the other night comes an unusual exchange. It's about 10 p.m. and I'm the only guy on the entire Proctors' block when this middle-aged man appears out of nowhere. "Hey, will you give me a cigarette?" he asks. After politely advising him that I don't smoke, he reversed direction and followed me. "How about buying me a pack of cigarettes?" My reply to that question can't be printed in a family newspaper. Some of us have been around so long we remember the real old days when the pitch was "Hey, buddy, can you spare a dime for a cup of coffee?" Now days, the coffee is about two bucks a pop and the pack of cigarettes the moocher wanted costs more than five bucks. I explained the encounter to a couple veteran cops I know. They agreed that often the panhandler's mission is to intimidate the victim. On occasion, the poor soul forks over a couple bucks to pacify the hustler. Unfortunately, warmer weather will bring more of these nuisance types out of hibernation.
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