De Blasio frustrated by panhandlers 'who are not particularly in need'

[Ralph Wiggum]

Let the outrage commence:

brooklynite
De Blasio frustrated by panhandlers 'who are not particularly in need'

This should be a fun addition to the Mayor's race.....



Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday said his administration's efforts to curb homelessness are working, despite increasing estimates of the number of homeless people on city streets, and expressed frustration that New Yorkers often confuse panhandlers "who are not particularly in need" for homeless persons.

“Sometimes we see people on the street who are bluntly just panhandlers, who are actually not even homeless,” de Blasio said during his weekly appearance on WNYC. “There are also people out there who are just begging for money and is not out of dire economic need, and that is frustrating to me.”


An annual count released this week estimated there was a 40 percent increase in the number of homeless people on city streets, which grew to 3,892 this year, up from 2,794 last year.

De Blasio, who was calling in from Hamburg, Germany, attributed part of that increase to a warm day in February, when the count was conducted.

http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2017/07/07/de-blasio-blames-rising-homelessness-on-not-even-homeless-panhandlers-113264
0

      

www.democraticunderground.com/10029318910

[BattleHymn]

Wed Jul 12, 2017, 05:59 PM
Yossarian22 (4 posts)
5. We need to pay panhandlers $15/hr

Standing on a corner in the heat, rain or cold is hard work. We should make sure they are compensated with a fair minimum wage.

Ok, which one of you is busy shitposting over there?   

[thundley4]

A couple of years ago the local cops arrested a panhandler who always set up on a corner near Walmart. He had a sign saying he was a disabled vet and was homeless.

He dressed in what could have been a stock uniform used on M*A*S*H. 

Turns out he was a retired vet, who had then retired from a job at the US Postal Service, owned his own home, no mortgage, owned two cars and happily divorced.

The story on the news at the time said that he was bored and enjoyed talking to people he met, and donated any money to some local charities.

They verified with a couple of the charities that he had been donating some money almost every week.

He disappeared after the story broke.

[SVPete]

A couple of decades ago the San Jose Murky Skews did a report about several street corner and freeway exit panhandlers (probably in the Clinton era). They were basically costumed fauxnies with decent houses making a very substantial (and probably tax-free) income from their panhandling. Times have changed and an R is President, so I doubt the Murky Skews would think of doing such an investigation and report.

[Old n Grumpy]

What Deblasio needs to do is issue seperate licenses for homeless people and ones for panhandling. They can charge a percentage of money collected  as a fee to offset the costs. Then you will know you are donating to a licensed certified bum, drug addict or alcaholic.

[USA4ME]

Primitives showing their hypocracy again. If Giuliani had said the same thing, watch out!

.

[JakeStyle]

A couple of years ago the local cops arrested a panhandler who always set up on a corner near Walmart. He had a sign saying he was a disabled vet and was homeless.

He dressed in what could have been a stock uniform used on M*A*S*H. 

I drive past a kid that looks like that every morning at Balboa & Genesee, maybe he migrated to San Diego.