Two days ago, I wrote about “the block” at Lee and Eugene Streets being empty. The block is a long-time gathering spot where folks, many of them homeless, are known to loiter and drink. A friend, who catches a bus just down the sidewalk, had contacted me to tell me … > read more
A friend contacted me yesterday to tell me that police were no longer allowing people to stand on “the block,” a well-known and long-time gathering spot at the corner of Lee and Eugene Streets near the homeless shelter, soup kitchen and health clinic. Traditionally, most of the people who stood … > read more
Message from a friend today: haha.. so i have been on the block today.. the fact is..the block isnt the block anymore. the police have taken their trash cans away, and have literally pulled up on the guys up there and told them that they cant stand in front of … > read more
From the News & Record A 44-year-old man leaving the Bessemer Curb Market was beaten and robbed by two men Saturday, police said. About 5:25 p.m., Anthony Brooks was leaving the store at 925 E. Bessemer Ave. when two men approached him, according to Greensboro police. The men then attacked … > read more
Did you read News & Record editorial page editor Allen Johnson’s Sunday, October 4, 2009 column? Read it online: My conflicted views about panhandlers. Allen writes in response to the heavily restrictive changes to the city’s panhandling ordinance, which have made it illegal to panhandle almost everywhere downtown, and have … > read more
Be sure to read Lorraine Ahearn’s News & Record article, “Benches highlight a bigger problem”, which begins like this: “The location of artistic benches, which were removed from the Downtown Greenway on Friday after neighbors complained, looked good on paper but ignored some basic urban topography. Just a stone’s throw … > read more
From greensboropeerpressure” “The people who rule what happens in Downtown Greensboro have removed the little greenway through the parking lot on South Elm and McGee streets downtown because they claim that nobody used it. People used to use it to eat bag lunches and watch passers-by and enjoy the breeze … > read more
The Greensboro City Council has adopted changes in the City ordinance governing begging and panhandling. Sec. 20-69 will be amended as follows: Sec. 20-69: Place Any person who begs or solicits alms for his or her personal gain when the person is in any of the places listed below is … > read more
UPDATE: The amendments to the panhandling ordinance passed unanimously. Tonight, the Greensboro City Council considers significant revisions to the ordinance governing public soliciting, begging and panhandling. The proposed changes would result in a de facto ban on panhandling in the downtown area, and would strictly limit panhandling throughout the rest … > read more
On Friday night, May 15th, hundreds of area youth are expected to sleep outside at Grace Community Church on Lee Street to raise awareness of homelessness, in an event sponsored by New Jerusalem Cathedral (see video). They will sleep in safety, protected by Greensboro police officers, on the same grounds … > read more