Marshall Street, Syracuse
SYRACUSE -- Should panhandling be stopped on Marshall Street?
As students and their families return to Syracuse University for the fall semester, so do a group of panhandlers who ask them for money in front of shops and restaurants on Marshall Street. A viewer e-mailed CNYcentral.com to complain about them and asked us to look into "pretend homeless people who heckle passersby for change."
During lunch hour on Tuesday. there were four people asking for money on a one block stretch of Marshall Street. The City of Syracuse has an ordinance to discourage such activity, but only "aggressive" panhandling. Syracuse Police spokesman Sergeant Tom Connellan expains that police will enforce the ordinance if they block your way, say something verbally abusive, or grab you.
"If they're not being aggressive there's nothing we can do." Connellan said.
With a hidden mike and camera, CNY Central's Jim Kenyon walked past two panhandlers who were in motorized wheelchairs. Kenyon found that neither was demanding or intimidating.
Will Davis sat on a bench asking for spare change. He said he needed money for food. Davis says Marshall Street is not a good place to panhandle, but he says he does not become aggressive when asking for money.
"I just ask them." Davis said, "I don't approach somebody demanding nothing from them... I don't demand nothing from nobody."
When asked if he agreed with the city's law against aggressive panhandling, Davis answered simply, "in a way...yes."
So what do you think? Should panhandling be completely illegal on Marshall Street, and other sections of Syracuse? Leave a comment below and let us know your opinion.
