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June 14, 2002

Signs of the Recession Times

The recession means that we are reentering the real debate on persistent homelessness, one where in a post-Guiliani world in New York City, their unsightly presence can't be as easily pushed out of view.
...One church in midtown Manhattan had been allowing homeless people to sleep on their property, over the objections of city government. A ruling by a federal appeals court has upheld the right of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church to let homeless people sleep on its steps without fear that they will be rousted by the police. With more than 30,000 homeless crowding New York City shelters each night, it's little wonder they are spilling over into church lawns. Ending the rousting of the homeless will hopefully be a cap on more than one legacy of Guiliani.
...Despite a few shining weeks in September, it shouldn't be forgotten why so many people before that were cheering Guiliani's exit. The compassion he showed in those days had been missing for eight years in the case of the poor, the homeless, those brutalized by cops-- all in the name of making the city pretty and comfortable for its upper middle class residents. Lip Magazine had a nice piece that remembers that pre-911 Guiliani performance.

Posted by Nathan at June 14, 2002 07:46 AM

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