Below are minutes for the October 8, 2002, joint meeting of the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association and the Fairlie-Poplar Task Force. Notes were written by Wendy Darling.

Introduction

Because it was a joint meeting and because we put in an extra effort to get our residents to attend, we had a very big crowd of locals plus a very good showing of police officers and public officials. In addition to half a dozen police officers, there was a direct representative of new City of Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington, Judge William Riley (Atlanta Community Court), officers from GSU police, the head of ADID's Ambassador Force, City Councilwoman Debi Starnes, a representative of Council President Cathy Woolard and a few more faces. The total attendance was around 50.

The meeting was chaired by ADNA President Erich Starrett and Task Force Chairman Tom Aderhold.

Below is a run-down of the major issues discussed and who did the talking:

Updates from Leaders

Neighborhood Leadership Meeting

Judge Riley, Atlanta Community Court

Judge Riley presented the assembly with a lot of in-your-face facts about the street population Downtown, the workings of the criminal justice system, etc., giving background based on the people and situtions he sees in his courtroom every day, including Downtown's homeless, drug users, prostitutes, etc. One of of the main points Judge Riley made is that without taking care of the root problems this population has, like housing and drug treatment, the problem will never go away and it will be a revolving cycle where people are arrested and then out on the street again. The court works to address that issue through its sentences and assistance.

The judge also emphasized that about 80 percent of the population he deals with are drug users, either alcohol or drugs or both, and between 50 and 60 percent have mental health problems. Many have an overlap of drug use and mental illness.

The Georgia legislature is going to be considering some legislation in the next session relating to homeless shelters, esp. emergency shelters, Judge Riley said. Basically, there is a proposal afoot that if a county accepts HUD money, they need to accept the fact that they have to provide emergency shelters. Currently there are issues like Cobb County scooping up people who need shelter and dumping them in Downtown. They should have to shelter them in their own county.

For more information on Atanta Community Court, see the court web site or email communitycourt@ci.atlanta.ga.us.

Thadeus Knox*, Atlanta Police Department

* Sorry if I spelled this wrong, it was what I heard and I didn't get the name afterward.

Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID), Ambassadors

Open Forum

• Wendy stood up and shared her experience as a 4-year-resident of Downtown. She says that until this summer she had never heard anyone seriously complaing about crime or public safety and certainly hadn't heard people reporting break-ins, cars busted, bikes stolen, or heard of anyone being assaulted. Things like that have been happening. It's changed the atmosphere. The street population also seems to be growing.

• City police mentioned the new bike patrols running 4 p.m. to midnight. Residents expressed concerns over that fact that they weren't seeing this patrols and that the patrols weren't out during the dead of night, when problems cropped up.

• Several Downtown residents said they felt that the homeless and street population has recently surged up beyond previous levels, something that has coincided with a rise in crime ane public safety problems.

• Judge Riley brought up the issue with HUD money and emergency shelters (see above).

• Resident (and CAP staff member) Cooper Holland said it was important not to lump all the street people together, especially when hiding among the legitimately needy are criminals who prey on tourists, businesspeople and residents. They blend in but they're not like everyone else. There are professional panhandlers who are driven home at night by relatives who live off their takings.

• Cooper also reported on Chief Pennington's proposal to start cleaning up Downtown in sectors, starting at Five Points and working on that until it's clean, then going out further. This was a method he used in New Orleans.

• Several residents and business owners expressed feelings that *their* rights were not being respected, that only the homeless and street people had defenders. The basic message was, "Why are we just expected to put up with it?"

• There was a long discussion of how if someone is sleeping in a doorway or on steps or other private property, police can't remove them. It was a whole liability discussion with a lot of legal issues, like having to take a picture, file something with the police, etc. (If anyone would like to detail this for us, email downtownatl@hotmail.com. Notetaker is not good at following legal discussions.)

• One problem that was brought up was the fact that any cleanup of one area (e.g. Woodruff Park) almost always results in problems in another area (e.g. Flatiron Building). Problem is shifted around.

• Resident Jamie Henderson addressed FPTF Chair John Aderhold, of Aderhold Properties, asking him "Why can't all buildings Downtown be like the Muse's?" Jamie pointed out that the Muse's, unlike the Flatiron, is clean, free of street people and kept up well. Next door the Flatiron has parts of it falling off, painting peeling, and homeless people on every doorway. Tom Aderhold, while first pointing out that there simply aren't enough police, said it was a matter of having an alert security person, cameras, always taking action, not slacking. It's hard but possible; it would be better if different property owners and tenants worked together more closely to share information and strategies.

• On Oct. 26 there's going to be a "massive graffiti elimination team" sweeping through Downtown with about 400 volunteers.

• Over in Woodruff Park, churches (mostly from far way) are still coming and doing mass feedings of the homeless. According to many, including local service providers, this practice isn't helping anyone (money and effort would be put to better use in existing shelters and food providers) and residents point out the health risks and mess of all the food left in the park. Some residents have been trying to educate the volunteers by telling them to help local providers instead of doing the feedings. Soon a letter, developed by Homeward Inc. and Cooper Holland and others, will go out to all the churches giving them an idea of better ways to help. The letter will be signed by Downtown clergy.

• Rick Skelton and others are still working on a new parking plan for Downtown, esp. on fixing unloading/loading zones. There is talk of installing parking meters.

• Tom Aderhold pointed out that for all the complaining about things being bad, back in 1996, things were a lot, lot worse. He talked about the days when they'd have to sweep the Muse's block for squatters and prostitutes and drugs were everywhere.