Dear Mayor -

Please get these vagrants off of our easements! Please have one of your City Departments invest in some large signs they state the law about camping, sleeping, littering, selling of property, etc. on city easements. They are on OUR taxpaid land. Please have them removed ASAP. They are in violation of the city ordinance and/or the state law.

Since the City is so concerned about these ''homeless'' individuals, (that some of us like to call JOBLESS VAGRANTS), why don't you recommend to the appropriate City Departments that they open jobs and only fill them with x-cons and felons since most of the street vagrants seem to be such. If they prove to be dependable and trustworthy then maybe some of the large companies around town will be more likely to hire them.

These pictures were taken at corners of Grafton Street and Bomar Ave right across from the Salvation Army where you spoke a few weeks ago stating that these people are not there by choice. There are always campers around the FREE hand outs, which is why some of us support a complete ban on FREE hand outs.

I'm one of many who are digusted with what we see in this city concerning the jobless vagrants living and trashing OUR lands!

Respectfully,

Suzette
suzette@riverside-kennel.com

By Suzette

Vagrants Unknown Reality

It seems that no one wants to touch this because the REALITY is unknown to the general public at large. The ones on the street are master manipulators who are living off of US! We need to get more organized, show pictures, show statistics, do our homework, set up camps in affluent neighborhoods and see if we are treated differently by the police and if we are, sue the City in order to bring public attention to the fact that OUR Civil Rights are violated just as the homeless say that theirs are. It's a one sided issue as far as the media reports. We need to be very proactive and help bring reality to the light and QUIT throwing our dollars at these people.

Yes, help the ones who want it and send the others to prison for breaking the law. If we do not do this, we will be fighting a losing battle. By throwing money at the manipulators, you are attracing more of them year after year after year after year.

We also need to start getting our presentations ready to present to City Counsel at end of March. I will speak on behalf of a small business owner in the heart of it all. Who else will speak before council? Let's get organized. The City is about to spend 8.8 Million and we need to influence their decisions if we can.

Suzette
suzette@riverside-kennel.com


By Suzette

Vagrants on the Eastside

To City Representatives,

I wrote to several of you a couple months ago regarding these same issues and I see others have the same complaints. It's regarding all the vagrants on the Eastside.

I am so glad to see others writing to you expressing their concerns on the vagrants as well. They have saturated our neighborhood and it is escalating in numbers each year. I have wrote so many letters and its like talking on deaf ears. I have called Police on them and nothing seems to ever happens. NEVER!

About a month ago I called the police on a vagrant for destroying property @ the old Winn-Dixie property, the police come, pick-up the vagrant, which also is in possession of a crack in pipe along with a bottle of alcohol in his pocket. The cop crushes his drugs & pipe into the pavement and then lets him go with a warning to never go onto the property again. O-yeah he was even let go with his bottle of alcohol. If that were me, do you think I would have had that sort of treatment? HELL NO! I would been taken right down town to the jail.

Where is the right in this? I am so tired of hearing people say, you live in a bad part of town. That doesn't make me feel real good, as my taxes just keep going up. Then the bad part of town comment is always followed with, I remember when that area was really nice, but thanks to the city for putting all the shelters on Lancaster . Along with all the liquor stores and 40oz beer stops.

Mr Mayor, It's it time to give back? Why are we paying all these taxes for? PLEASE HELP US! We need our neighborhood cleaned up in every way. If you can't help us (The Eastside) then we (The Eastside) need to get to work. The elections are coming.

I am aware of the MACH meeting each month that takes place during my working day. It would be nice if I could afford to miss work to attend some of these meetings, but that's not an option for me. Why can't we have a town hall meeting in the evening for those of us that work during the day? Regarding only homelessness and vagrants,

Thank you, Mike Phipps


By Mike Phipps

I take exception to your comment

Mr Phipps, I take exception to your comment that nothing ever happens. The Police Department has taken a lot of action in this community. You site one case of an officer not taking action and are saying that we do not take any action in this community. That is simply not true. I will have staff contact you to ascertain the specifics of the incident and will take appropriate action against the officer if appropriate. We should expect an officer to take appropriate action for criminal behavior. With that said we can not arrest for a violation for a Class C misdemeanor if it did not occur within the officers presence unless there is an outstanding warrant for the individual. In addition we cannot arrest people because they are poor and vagrants.



By Chief Mendoza