Friday, May 19, 2017

Anti-Panhandler Ordinance in Lake Worth

Tuesday night under New Business and under the guise of public safety, ordinance 2017-11 was introduced to prohibit panhandlers at certain intersections in the city. Most of the panhandlers I have seen stay on the sidewalk and do not block traffic or hold signs out to the roadway.

Always when I see one while exiting I-95 at 6th Avenue South, they are on the sidewalk or on the median strip. They slowly walk by as cars are stopped for the red light. It has been said that one-half of the panhandlers are homeless; the other half are just poor. Last month, a federal judge struck down a panhandling ordinance in Lowell, Massachusetts, ruling that panhandlers "may communicate important political or social messages in their appeals for money, explaining their conditions related to veteran status, homelessness, unemployment and disability."

But Lake Worth has an image problem and they are again, cracking down on the homeless and the poor at 5 intersections but not in the downtown. I truly wish they would concentrate on the slum, blight and the crime in our city.

With an initial vote of 5/0, this comes back for the Second Reading on June 6.

6 comments:

Lynn Anderson said...

I hope that the commission has considered that panhandlers will now, more than ever, roam our downtown business district and bother people as they are trying to eat their hamburger!

Anonymous said...

This is a piece you wrote by yourself and it shows, so amateur, and then you comment on it. Brilliant! Sad! Lol!

Lynn Anderson said...

Thanks for your confidence. :) Stay on your own blog. Or better yet, become a beggar panhandler in LW. We need more people like you.

Anonymous said...

I see nothing wrong with this article on panhandling but I have no sympathy for these people as I think they are scam artists and a pain in the rear. What's wrong with you at 8:52? This must be negative Wes.

Anonymous said...

I no longer feel comfortable on Lake ave so didn't know citizens were still being harassed by beggars. Thanks for the update, Lynne and ignore the stupid comments of jealous people, you do a good service to our community.

Anonymous said...

I hope they get rid of these scamers plaguing our town.