Hemming Park Problem

[ronchamblin]

Thanks Sheclown for raising a valid possible problem with racist and civil rights issues.  As you've seen, the Non-Red post supported my view, which or course does not necessarily make it the correct view, only giving it weight.

However, I still believe that "any" group, any color, any homogeneous ethnic population, even any group or any population of "whites" who, by their association by way of similar interests or professional or trade identities, who by their insensitivities to the needs and wishes of others to use the park, do occupy the park excessively, habitually, overwhelmingly, every day, all day, are guilty of preventing its use by other citizens such as local workers, the casual city core visitor, and the local residents, who are intimidated by the image of any homogeneous group, white or black, taking control of the park, occupying the park, commandeering the park, possessing the park, perpetually.

It is similar to a scenario wherein city hall permitting gave continual permission for events and activities continually, and every day, to a special group so they could possess the park for their activities, because this scenario too, would prevent the park's use by the average citizen who wanted to simply enjoy the park, the trees, the calm essence of a park, to read, to play chess, to converse with other individuals without being offended continually by the noise of perpetual events and activities.   

My wish is to avoid the racial focus, which is understandably tempting for some, as there is indeed some validity for the racial concern, and focus on the real and perhaps more honest aspect, which is simply the habitual and continual occupation of the park by a homogeneous population of individuals who happen to be black.

I realize that there are perhaps four or five parallel actions which can and are being performed to solve the park problem, some being long term, some being short.  I am for strict and aggressive enforcement of any rules, old or new, so that those citizens who wish to also use the park, can do so.  Any necessary changes to the park should also be made, but hopefully the changes will include the best ideas according the most ideal and classic southern park essence, and not according to quick fix actions which only degrade the beauty and function of the park.  I personally think the current park is quite beautiful, and only requires some small changes to improve its beauty and function. 

[exnewsman]

I think programming is the answer. During the Jazz Festival or during Art Walk nobody talks about the homeless issue. Now we obviously can't have a Jazz Festival everyday, but more activities there will make it more inclusive for all.

[ronchamblin]

I think programming is the answer. During the Jazz Festival or during Art Walk nobody talks about the homeless issue. Now we obviously can't have a Jazz Festival everyday, but more activities there will make it more inclusive for all.

Programming is a partial solution.  However, to expect a continual momentum of activities and events to solve the habitual occupy problem is perhaps expecting too much on the ability of those scheduling the activities to keep up with the demand.  But yes, I agree that any events and activities programmed and held would assist the overall situation. 

[fieldafm]

Here are 'homeless donation meters' that are becoming prevelant in other localities

Orlando OKs 'homeless meters,' an alternative to giving change to panhandlers
October 19, 2010|By Mark Schlueb, Orlando Sentinel
Orlando commissioners OK'd a plan Monday to install old parking meters repurposed to accept donations for the homeless around downtown, near spots where panhandlers beg passersby for spare change.

City leaders say the 15 meters will give downtown workers and visitors an alternative to giving money to panhandlers. The money will be donated to a homeless charity.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-10-19/news/os-homeless-meters-20101019_1_homeless-meters-donation-meters-panhandling-downtown

Walking around downtown Orlando, Fla., feels like strolling through "The Truman Show" 's fictional town of Seahaven. But spotless sidewalks, a tidy business district, lush parks and lakes belie a real city with real problems, in particular a burgeoning homeless population that local officials are struggling to control. After a law banning begging outright was struck down by the courts, the city tried regulating panhandlers by issuing them ID cards, then by confining them to three- by 15-foot "panhandling zones" painted on sidewalks. But it wasn't enough, so this summer Orlando tried a supply-side solution, cracking down on churches and activists who had been feeding large groups of homeless people in downtown parks. Now it's not just the panhandlers who risk getting arrested, it's the people trying to help them.
Advocates say anti-feeding ordinances are the latest in a series of municipal efforts to legislate against homelessness. A report this year by the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) found double-digit increases since 2002 in laws prohibiting begging, sitting and lying in public places. A week before Orlando passed its ordinance, Las Vegas outlawed giving food to even a single indigent in any city park. The law defines an indigent as a person who appears "to be entitled to apply for or receive" government assistance. "It's revoltingly immoral. It literally enforces a class regime by defining criminal behavior based on income," says Lee Rowland, a public advocate with the ACLU of Nevada, which filed suit in August against the Vegas feeding ban.
"Cities figure that if you quit feeding the homeless, they'll go away," says NCH executive director Michael Stoops. But in Orlando they've kept coming, drawn by warm weather and low-skill service- industry jobs. The homeless population, including seasonal agricultural workers, is estimated at about 7,000; the city has shelter capacity for about 2,000.
Activist and church groups tried to fill the gap with food programs. The largest, run by a group called Food Not Bombs, began giving away meals once a week at Lake Eola, one of Orlando's most pristine parks. Their well-intentioned efforts led to some negative side effects for nearby residents. Police say that crime, along with reports of trespassing and lewd behavior, spiked after many of the large feedings, which often drew hundreds of homeless into some of the nicest parts of downtown. "I was having to pick up human waste from my yard and shoo people out from sleeping in my bushes," says Robert Harding, a local attorney whose office is around the corner from Lake Eola Park.
While the ordinance has reduced the size and frequency of feedings, Food Not Bombs is finding ways around it by feeding from the backs of cars parked across from parks. More than once, it's thumbed its nose at the city by feeding in front of municipal buildings, even city hall, which raises the issue of whether the ban is even enforceable--just as the city prepares to defend it in court. Supported by the ACLU, Food Not Bombs sued to overturn the ban earlier this fall. Food, says the group's head Ben Markeson, "is a right, not a privilege." The city may look like a movie set, but the people lining up for sandwiches aren't actors.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2006/11/05/ok-sister-drop-that-sandwich.html

[fieldafm]

Seeing as though Mayor Brown loves his photo opps....

Why not institute a lunch with the mayor day once a week with Hemming Plaza!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He could meet with City Hall employees for lunch in Hemming.  It could be a different department each week, and it could be used as a productivity/communication enhancment tool designed to 'increase efficiency in City Hall and improve morale among COJ employees'. 

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

What if parking meters with 1hr time limits were installed next to each table?  (A light bulb just went off in city hall!)

Orlando has converted a section of parking meters downtown for panhandlers to be able to operate. 

Lake Eola Park actually serves as a pretty good example.  There are homeless in the area... but there is a nice playground and some cool small restaurants along the park that activate pedestrian activity that masks vagrant presence.

Sort of tongue-in-cheek, but the suggestion is to limit the time that, to use the word of the day, 'occupiers' can freely occupy the benches and tables. 

[buckethead]

^ Smart idea, Fieldafm.

As for Ron, I would suggest simply leaving the issue of race out of your essay. Behavior is the issue. For the purpose of changing the behavior, race is of little consequence.

Individual perceptions about race simply are what they are.

[JeffreyS]

I was at Hemming yesterday around one.   I was not kept from using the park in any way.  I hear what you are saying and it is just incorrect when people held back by fear of interacting with a group that is not their normal group they are holding themselves back.  I could see if it felt like a rambunctious unregulated space but it just doesn't.  There are police, suits, dresses and homeless present most week days.

[JeffreyS]

I am not saying the fear of stepping out of ones comfort zone isn't real.

[BridgeTroll]

I was at Hemming yesterday around one.   I was not kept from using the park in any way.  I hear what you are saying and it is just incorrect when people held back by fear of interacting with a group that is not their normal group they are holding themselves back.  I could see if it felt like a rambunctious unregulated space but it just doesn't.  There are police, suits, dresses and homeless present most week days.

This has been my experience also...

[thelakelander]

I think programming is the answer. During the Jazz Festival or during Art Walk nobody talks about the homeless issue. Now we obviously can't have a Jazz Festival everyday, but more activities there will make it more inclusive for all.

Programming is a partial solution.  However, to expect a continual momentum of activities and events to solve the habitual occupy problem is perhaps expecting too much on the ability of those scheduling the activities to keep up with the demand.  But yes, I agree that any events and activities programmed and held would assist the overall situation. 

Having a retail/dining presence within the park itself, as well as surrounding land uses integrating with the park's borders could be considered a form of continuous programming.


Downtown Mobile, Alabama's Cathedral Square is an example where surrounding restaurants offer sidewalk dining on the edges of the park's borders, thus bringing a mix of people into the space throughout the day.


Downtown Cincinnati's Fountain Square was recently renovated to allow retailers to open up into the space, thus flooding it with diverse turnover and use throughout the slowest days.


Cincinnat's Fountain Square.


Downtown Detroit's Campus Martius Park includes an Au Bon Pain bakery and cafe right in the center of it.  Who doesn't like fresh pastries and bread?


Detroit's Campus Martius Park.


Detroit's International Riverwalk includes space for Kiosk rental and a kids carousel as amenities that appeal to different segments of society.


Detroit International Riverfront's kids carousel.


If investing in a permanent retail facility is viewed as long term because of capital costs, take a page out of Toronto's book.  Toronto allows the edges of their public spaces to be used as mobile food truck lots, which packs parks like Phillips Square full of people throughout the weekdays.


When that option isn't viable because of site context, they also allow mobile vendors to set up in other public spaces, such as their waterfront.

Hemming's main problem and obstacle may be that there's too much focus on getting rid of one segment of the population enjoying the "space" instead of adding amenities to make it a "place."

[Bativac]

Hemming's main problem and obstacle may be that there's too much focus on getting rid of one segment of the population enjoying the "space" instead of adding amenities to make it a "place."

I think you're spot on here - a lot of the focus seems to be "how do we get these people out of here" instead of "how do we get more people in here." I've heard suggestions like "get rid of the benches and tables" which seems to be the opposite of what you want for a public space.

The food truck thing is a good idea. Are we allowed to do that downtown?

[thelakelander]

^Public policy and regulation makes it difficult and cost prohibitive in public locations.

[IamAmerican]

Someone may have mentioned this, the obvious solution is to use the same methods one uses to keep birds from perching in inconvenient places, thin spikes.

http://www.birdbgone.com/products/bird-spikes/

[Tacachale]

Judging by a lot of these comments, Ron, you may want to think about some caveats to talk about to keep the discussion on a productive path. A few to consider might be:

1.Every city's downtown has a problem with vagrants, from downtowns at our level or worse, to the most thriving. We shouldn't be solipsistic, rather we should look at how other cities deal with problems such as Hemming Plaza.

2.There is a difference between "homelessness" as a condition/ the "homeless" population, and problematic behaviors that are the real trouble here. You can crack down on panhandling, public drunkenness, etc. downtown, without cracking down on the homeless (and of course, many panhandlers and drunks are not homeless).

3. Race should not be an issue here. If anyone brings that up at the meeting, tell them to shut right up. That will only cause more problems than it could ever address. It's a load of baloney to think these issues are the result of certain percentage of the park's users being of a certain color or another. Are you really saying that if the park was 90% full of black office workers, middle-class families, and nuns, that we'd be having this issue? I've frequented the park in Lincolnville in St. Augustine, which is often around 90% black, but no overwhelming number of homeless. Not even comparable to Hemming Plaza's issues. I've also frequented Jarboe Park in Neptune Beach, which may approach 90% white on any given day. Again, not remotely comparable. Seriously, this is a dead end.