BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Walgreen Co. store at Fifth and Race streets continually asks panhandlers to move from its front door, only to watch them return a short time later. A few customers have complained about the beggars, said the store's assistant manager, Mary Ann Fredrick.
"When a person comes downtown to shop, they don't want to be followed or inundated with requests for money," said Phyllis Karp, a downtown resident and owner of the Main Auction Galleries on Fourth Street.
She says beggars are troublesome at several downtown locations, in particular Fifth and Race streets and near the closed McAlpin's store on Fourth Street. They present a negative image of a city that is trying to promote clean streets and prosperity, Ms. Karp said. She hopes the city will continue to push its restrictions on panhandling. And if groups want to help the beggars, they should go beyond fighting for begging rights and get the panhandlers off the streets and into helpful programs they need, Ms. Karp added.
On May 22, a federal magistrate ruled the city's ban on begging and sitting on sidewalks violated a First Amendment right to speak freely in public places. Laws outlawing aggressive panhandling, touching or grabbing passers-by, or refusing to take "no" for an answer, were not affected.
The bans were flawed, said Pat Clifford, general coordinator at the Drop Inn Center, a shelter in Over-the-Rhine.
Arresting panhandlers is not the solution, Mr. Clifford said, because jail time and arrest records only make it harder for people down on their luck to restart their lives.
"Think about positive solutions, something that leaves a person with dignity and self-esteem," Mr. Clifford said. He pointed to Streetvibes, a newspaper written and sold on the streets to help the homeless build skills.
Ms. Fredrick doubts the Walgreen store has lost any customers because of the beggars out front. "This is a city and people are used to seeing it," she said.
And downtown developer Arn Bortz said the federal ruling seemed sensible, adding that most people are not bothered by panhandlers, and the ruling still protects people from the aggressive few.
Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union, representing advocates for the poor, challenged the ordinances, saying the poor and homeless were singled out from their right to speak on public sidewalks.
Cincinnati City Councilman Phil Heimlich said the laws were meant to provide a sense of security for downtown visitors and residents. "I don't see this as a free-speech issue, but a safety issue," Mr. Heimlich said. The ordinances included such measures as no begging near automated teller machines.
He said he would recommend that the city appeal the federal ruling.
