Buffalo Rising Online

Wow, do you think this year, we could have a better control of the PANHANDLERS and bums sleeping on the benches during the 'Great Downtown Housing Tour"? I was like "why would I want to move here with all these bums everywhere? NOT A GOOD LOOK when giving a tour for LIVING.

Isn't that part of living in the city Wally? Just saying....

The term Panhandler and bum is a less than meaningful way for your ego to appear superior to someone that you DO NOT KNOW! Maybe if you were to look at these people you refer to as panhandlers and bums as brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers you may not have as much hatred in your heart and use such negative language to refer to people that SHARE our city with us. I would encourage you to reflect on your thoughts before you spit them out to the public.

I was sitting down at Spot Coffee the other day and looked out the window and I all seen for 30 minutes were: A female panhandling EVERY PERSON walking by her and even chased a women to her car as she was walking out of Starbucks, A man carrying a shoe shinner bugging people, and about 3 different guys pushing shopping carts in the middle of the street. This reminds me of NYC during the 1980's. Don't believe me? Rent any movie from that era filmed there and check it out for yourself. Anyone who is serious in saying "we don't have a panhandler problem here" needs to Wake Up, go downtown for a day, sit and observe for yourself, better yet, wait a bus stop at Delaware & Chippewa, or near Main & Court, or Main & Church and I guaranty YOU WILL Be harrased by someone. - Oh, and also take notice to the LACK Of Police Patroling the sidewalks or any notice to the pums period. Yeah, makes me want to pay a fortune and live in a bum's paradise (and no RETAIL)

Yes, NYC has bums today, (every city does) BUT, I say BUT, the panhandlers in NYC are ENTERTAINING-- they sing, play an instrument, rap or serinade to you for $$...The bums here are bold and aggresive and sometimes DEMAND $$$$- That's why I carry a gun (don't worry, I have a permit for it)

Michael, WAKE THE F(*** UP!!! Go downtown for a DAY or better yet have your OFFICE or other establishment Downtown and then say the shit you just said and we'll see how sorry you feel for those bums then. They are BUMS. some in wheelchairs, or crutches....HELLO!!!! If they are disabled, Their are ways to get money from the government for that.... And how about those people with the story "Oh, I'm stranded", or "my baby's in a shelter and needs diapers">>>.B..., if your baby is in a shelter, SHE'S GETTING DIAPERS AND FOOD.. If your stranded here, you found a way here, now find your way back, call someone and have them send you money.... So sick of the same old stories here, and it's ONLY used here, when I travel around, I never hear these stories, BECAUSE THEY ONLY MAKE SCENSE TO THE PEOPLE IN THIS TOWN....

Hey WalterT1, you posted on an another topic that you're leaving next week...why don't you leave NOW? Spare us any more of your vulgarity, negative attitude, and obvious ignorance. A real problem in Buffalo are people like YOU who do nothing but insult the people of this city. But ya know, you're actually helping the problem, for after you leave there will be one less bum in the city. It's no wonder you're single--what decent person would put up with an idiot like you?

"Bums" are in every city....that will never change.

But downtown needs more of a police presence....they need cops out of the cars and on foot....bike....horse. it will give people a sense of security.

I work in the rand building....i pass a panhandler on every single corner...they dont bother me....but they make most of the women in my office very skiddish...escpecially in the evening hours. When i lived in philly i think i seen more of them....but i also noticed a lot of cops....in cars...on foot....engaged in the surroundings. moving people, bums off the park bench's....moving them from the corners...ect, ect.

I would like to see the buffalo police to be more active and engaged. GET OUT OF YOUR CARS.

I have less fear of panhandlers than I do of people who think it's necessary to carry guns around my city.

Walter. You obviously have never had the experiance of one of your loved one's living on the streets. You should not assume you know everyone's situation. i am sure if you took the time to understand some of these people your views would change.

I'd like to see more cops WALKING around too. But when making a call to City Hall recently after I had an incident downtown with a group of High School Kids following me to my office. The women I spoke with told me it's because of LACK of Officers and Money that we do not see officers walking around. So basical what she was telling me, We should deal with it, live in fear, and defend for yourself while downtown, the police have more important issues to handle than a bum or harrasment in the downtown area.

Poor people and bums are a party of the city and any congregation of people, you can't change that without changing capitalism... I don't typically mind bums, I feel bad most of the time but there are a couple things that do annoy me.

The stories are really lame, they must think people are idiots because they stand in the same place saying the same story for months. Everyone knows you are lying through your teeth, you could have walked to Niagara Falls by now, and it's midnight on a Saturday there are no more buses anyhow! How about a little honesty and be humble...

Another thing and I am probably going to get in trouble for this, are the bums who only ask white people for money. I will be walking down allen street and you can watch them skip over the three black people (some of whom are much better dressed than I) and go right to me to ask for money? What gives? Do I have money because I am white? That drives me crazy! The holes in my jeans were not bought that way but because I have been wearing them since High School.. sigh.

Or the people who ask for money and they are better dressed than I. I was walking down the street and this guy walked the opposite way, full suit (granted it was green) but he even had matching shoes. We exchange pleasantries as we passed but then he asked me for the time. So I stopped and told him and then he proceeded to ask for money... What gives with that! OR the well dressed people who get mad at you for saying "sorry" to them and yell at you because I thought they were poor. Apparently it is a sport to ask people for money now adays.

What gives, Is we have SO MANY of them Downtown. It's worse along Chippewa St. and Allen St. where they walk right up and knock on your car window begging for money. And it becomes very annoying to walk along Main St. just to be bothered and it's usally the SAME person in a different outfit trying to get your attention. I'd luv to see more security downtown WALKING!

So how many people have come back to Buffalo because of this Old Home Week?

I'm laughing my ass off reading these comments...here is a good little news story on Old Home Week and all but one comment is about panhandlers. Really, is this what the story is about? Panhandlers??? I love how Buffalo Rising stories about about one thing, and the comments are about something else. Some people really need to get a life...or atleast think before they speak.

The point of these comments Perry, is that- To promote downtown living, MAKE DOWNTOWN SAFER!!! It's a sad place right now, looks like a dumping ground for the mentally ill and poor. All you see downtown are people pushing shopping carts, guys using crutches and wheel chairs asking for change, people popping out from pillars and back doors, knocking on windows, waiting for you to get out of a bank, atm, or any establishment and HARRASS THE SHIT OUT OF YOU TILL YOU ACKNOWLEGE THEM!!!! It's so fuckin annoying, Why would anyone want to live in such as DEPRESSED area? I know the poor is a world wide issue, BUT where are the POLICE?????? and WHERE THE JOBS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have my airline tickets booked and hotel reserved…I will be there for the celebration. I didn’t have a choice as I was only 10 when my family decided to leave in 1963 to the land of promise here in the desert. But hey, we were moving to Vegas, I was excited! The excitement wore off as I became homesick and missed Buffalo not long after we arrived.

I was just back in Buffalo in February for my first look at the city as an adult, let me share a unique perspective—a comparison of Buffalo 1963 to 2007. One thing about being homesick is you long for the places and people you had grown up with, the history of the region, the incredible architecture, the fabulous Olmsted Parks, the friendliness of the people. When I was 8 years old my favorite place to spend a Sunday was the Historical Building, they showed movies in the theatre every week. I was fascinated by the exhibits and never tired of looking at them. I lived so close to the zoo I could hear the lions roar when it was feeding time, so there were many visits there. I would hop on the Colvin bus and ride all the way to Shelton Square and then back again, if I kept a low profile in the back the driver wouldn’t ask for another fare. I would just stare at those buildings downtown…you see my father was an engineer and explained things to me, told me how they worked. He would tell stories of when he worked on building the Peace Bridge and Grand Island Bridge, and when he worked at the water intake in the Niagara River. So I developed an appreciation for not only the form but the function of these things.

Fast forward 44 years, and I finally get to see my hometown as an adult. My point of reference was the images of Buffalo 1963: all the downtown buildings were an ashen grey from years of industrial pollution and coal-fired furnaces. I walked through downtown in 2007 and everything looks *cleaner* than I remember, there’s colors showing in those buildings I never saw before. I went through the Cold Springs neighborhood, the house where I was born at Ellicott & Best is no longer there but the area is showing renewed life. I expected rundown, boarded up buildings but instead saw classic architecture revitalized. There was no trash, the streets weren’t all filled with pot holes as I remember…and sorry folks, I didn’t see any panhandlers. Franklin Park blew me away, when I lived here you just didn’t even go to this area. The Elmwood strip…well, I only remember this as a through street to get from downtown to North Buffalo.

On to North Buffalo where I lived from 1957-1963 and no, it didn’t look the same…it looked better. I guess 44 years of looking at tract homes in the desert has given me an appreciation for it. I saw the house my grandfather built and mother grew up in, it and the neighborhood just blew me away, it looked so great. Homes with character, well-maintained…tree-canopied streets, even after the carnage of Dutch Elm disease and the big storm in October. Homer Avenue and North Park was awesome, I walked down my old street and saw houses still inhabited by the people who were there in 1963…the people we sold our house to still live there. The trees were gone…a lot of trees are gone, but new ones are maturing in their place. One of the first things I do will be to plant a tree. Hertel Avenue had more life and vitality than I remember. The sign in front of St. Margaret’s church—where my parents and sister where married and I attended third grade—seemed so appropriate: “Come Back to Me With All Your Heart”

The Buffalo people is what impressed me the most…the warm welcome I received made me feel like I belong here, for the first time in 44 years I truly felt like I was “home.” I heard the complaints, I was told about the crime, the depressed economy, the massive amounts of people who have left. I’ve heard that before, when my father was laid off when Bell Aircraft shut down he was a bitter man after that. Downtown did look empty, with a lot of shovel-ready parcels down there; the east side has a long way to go, there’s a lot of vacant houses and lots. The 33 has carved a gaping swath through a beautiful area—those old houses sure look sad facing the highway. It’s not going to be easy and it won’t happen overnight. But I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, being optimistic and focusing my energies on the positive has made me successful in my field.

It seems appropriate Buffalo Old Home Week kicks off on the same day I left—July 1. I don’t know how many people the event has brought back, or will bring back. But I can tell you one Buffalo native is coming home for good…and others are going to follow. Five more years of drought in the west is going to force the issue, and I’m going to be in a place that has plenty of water.

Um, MRodgers, So WHERE ARE THE POLICE To ENFORCE THIS????? That is the big issue here. All of what you just posted has been said before and NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE!!... And to George and others.....Over half my family and all of friends LEFT Buffalo since 1999 and are NOT Homesick, I myself am also moving away this Summer for GOOD...I certainly can't wait to get to a real city with a VIBE and JOBS!!!! This town is still too backwards and depressing for my taste and to of course the 30,000 PLUS who also left this decade to better themselfs.

welcome home georgethomaspfel.....

Good job buffalo old home week....

MRodgers: I know from past posts that you apparently work for the City. I don't. I just pay taxes; which, by the way, have gone up 40% in less than 7 years. Really; Why should I expect anything in return for this money? If I want to send my kids to a public school; hope they get into City Honors. If I don't want to be bothered by the same miscreants "panhandling" in the same places every day, I need to take responsibility and "do somehting"? Are you suggesting that I stop calling the police and start beating the crap out of these people?

Or better yet, DON'T GIVE MONEY TO THE "BUMS", walk by and pretend you don't see or hear them..They will get the hint and locate somewhere else. I'm so sick of the stupid people actually stopping for these people and act all nervous and shit...JUST IGNORE THEM, and they wont bother you. If one does get too aggressive, PEPPER SPRAY THEIR ASS! It's your right to protect yourself.