“I can’t even walk up to Peachtree Street for lunch anymore because of the panhandling. I’d have to walk by that monument where they all sleep and shoot up. And the smell of old urine Is disgusting,” emails an InsiderAdvantage subscriber who works in downtown Atlanta.
Another reader writes: “I drove on a section of North Avenue and saw ugly tents that have been pitched by the homeless. I’m now seeing some downtown hotels and businesses having people sleeping at their entrances and several parks have recently been taken over panhandlers and sleeping street people.”
Indeed, police, businesses and the general citizenry are becoming more alarmed at the growing numbers of aggressive panhandlers and homeless street people appearing on Atlanta streets since the recent closures of the city jail and the Pine Street homeless shelter.
The mainstream media is just now starting to pay attention, with Fox5 Atlanta airing a comprehensive report this week by reporter Angelique Proctor and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution publishing an in-depth column by Bill Torpy. https://www.ajc.com/news/local/torpy-large-homeless-complaints-deja-all-over-again/0bLNl1vghr1VUu3nPpODNM/
InsiderAdvantage is getting indications that some Atlanta City Council members are finally getting concerned over this quality-of-life issue and especially its effect on everything from business operations to tourism. Police sources tell InsiderAdvantage that some high-profile arrests, especially of aggressive panhandlers and the tent people, could help send a signal that toleration is over.
Then there’s the question of whether Atlanta’s anti-panhandling law is constitutional or not. And if Council and city lawyers deem it unconstitutional, will Council then enact a new one that can pass court muster?
Insiders say that, for whatever reason, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has so far not shown any leadership in addressing the multiple problems associated with the growing crisis. In this context a related question is asked: Why were there no “back-up plans” ready to be implemented after what some say were the premature closures of the city jail and the Pine Street facility?
