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Ever since they opened up a shelter in Kew Gardens, their presence has increased, as have the problems. That's basically the point. I'm not walking around Kew Gardens looking for homeless people all day.
Well now we're getting somewhere
I used to be in the area sometimes but not anymore, this is why I'm asking.
This article states that the single men shelter was supposed to be converted to a family shelter:
Countless stories of the City setting up shop to house homeless people all over the City and promising this and that. If you want further proof, look at the mess in Ozone Park. Problems there on a daily basis.
I'm not dismissing people's concerns with crime. There's a contingent of people on here who I believe purposely hope that NYC crime levels reach those of the late 1980s-early 1990s for financial gain. Which is why they post every crime they see on here to get people agitated. Even you yourself said in a previous post that it could never get that bad again. I truly believe that it won't.
Furthermore, that particular group of people who post about these types of crimes, don't even live in high-crime neighborhoods. So you have to ask yourself, what is their intent? As a mod on here, I definitely ask myself that. Are they trolling, or what? You're in LE so you comment based on your livelihood, what's their agenda? You don't ask yourself this? Look at the most recent dialogue between me and Mr. Retired. He thinks the media is pulling wool over our eyes because it was recently reported that although murders are up from last year (thanks to Chinatown), overall crime is lower than it was last year. And he thinks this is a lie. So I ask him, what's the truth then? And why the hand-wringing if all other crime is down? Why is a retired person who does not live in a high-crime neighborhood worrying about getting shot/murdered?
I live in a high-crime area, and I rarely post about crimes occurring. It's actually much safer around my way then it was 10 years ago. I used to hear gunshots every weekend, no exaggeration. I even heard gunshots one Sunday morning. Detectives even knocked on my door another Sunday morning to ask me if I happened to see or hear anything about a shooting that happened the night before a block away from my house. I'm in my robe making bacon and eggs. I'll never forget that. So if anybody should be worried about crime it should be me. I have a family and kids.
I don't believe this particular group of people posting on here have genuine concern for crime levels, that's all. At least, they post for shock value. And Airborne, you know we live in a big city, 9-10 million people (the real numbers). Anything can happen anywhere. Let's see when the next time an incident like this happens again in Kew Gardens. If it continues with frequency then the "sky is falling" mantra can possibly be legitimate.
When they legalize marijuana I believe the city can see under 200 murders (less murders is what everybody wants, essentially).
For once I would like to talk about what causes crime, instead of jumping out the window every time a crime is reported.
What causes crime? Isn't that obvious (and researched to death, despite being obvious)?
1. Some crime is caused by psychopaths and mentally impaired people who cannot think logically and/or have delusions or hallucinations.
2. In majority of cases, criminal lifestyle simply begets criminal lifestyle. It is obvious without even any research that somebody growing in a social circle where it is normal to commit crimes will see it as normal to commit crimes.
I was not raised with any religious restrictions about food, so I wouldn't think twice about eating bacon. But to a devout Moslem, eating bacon is unthinkable, and if he ate it accidentally, he would probably have nightmares about horrible punishments.
But I don't eat bacon very often because I know that bacon is not great for your health. If I had problems with obesity and cholesterol, I would never eat it at all, because I do not cherish the idea of stroke, infarct and premature death.
So, people avoid certain behavior either because it is instilled into them from childhood that something is unthinkably bad, or they learn to avoid that behavior because it will be seriously punished.
From which it follows that strict law enforcement is the only approach that can break the learned cycle of crime. Actively criminal psychopaths and lunatics will of course not respond to law enforcement/punishment, but they need to be locked up for the safety of the rest of society. Anyone who commits crime needs to be meaningfully punished (for lesser crimes) or locked up with his own kind, ie, either normal criminals or mental cases (for violent crimes). What else is there to discuss about it?
What causes crime? Isn't that obvious (and researched to death, despite being obvious)?
1. Some crime is caused by psychopaths and mentally impaired people who cannot think logically and/or have delusions or hallucinations.
2. In majority of cases, criminal lifestyle simply begets criminal lifestyle. It is obvious without even any research that somebody growing in a social circle where it is normal to commit crimes will see it as normal to commit crimes.
I was not raised with any religious restrictions about food, so I wouldn't think twice about eating bacon. But to a devout Moslem, eating bacon is unthinkable, and if he ate it accidentally, he would probably have nightmares about horrible punishments.
But I don't eat bacon very often because I know that bacon is not great for your health. If I had problems with obesity and cholesterol, I would never eat it at all, because I do not cherish the idea of stroke, infarct and premature death.
So, people avoid certain behavior either because it is instilled into them from childhood that something is unthinkably bad, or they learn to avoid that behavior because it will be seriously punished.
From which it follows that strict law enforcement is the only approach that can break the learned cycle of crime. Actively criminal psychopaths and lunatics will of course not respond to law enforcement/punishment, but they need to be locked up for the safety of the rest of society. Anyone who commits crime needs to be meaningfully punished (for lesser crimes) or locked up with his own kind, ie, either normal criminals or mental cases (for violent crimes). What else is there to discuss about it?
Really, strict law enforcement is the only approach? I guess repeat offenders did not get that memo.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
So is the problem about the homeless or mentality ill people who happen to be homeless?
Both.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeventhFloor
I invite you to quote where I dismiss crimes in my own neighborhood. I rarely post about specific crimes. As far as homeless people, I don't see any in my neighborhood. About 2 years ago, one was posted up in my train station a few times in the morning. Since then that's been pretty much it. If you think about it, Far Rockaway isn't really a great place for homeless people to be anyway so there's not much use for them to be out here. It's freezing cold in the winters and nobody has money out here to give away.
You have noted your tolerance level for crime in your neighborhood, so that right there just shows that you find it acceptable to some degree. However others may not find it acceptable that live in areas where there is lower crime. I think that's the real problem. Crime happens everywhere sure, but we are seeing an uptick in certain quality of issues. More homeless, aggressive behavior, and so on, and the incident that I posted is sadly not the first time this year that a mentally disturbed homeless person has randomly attacked a kid. This is third or fourth time this has happened this year alone. Maybe it isn't disturbing to you because you don't think it happens enough, but any time that any kid is randomly attacked by someone with mental issues (particularly those with a history of randomly menacing others), I find that very disturbing. We have a problem in this City that this administration has been sweeping under the rug in general. Just look at the mess that "Thrive" has left...
There is that other thread about the homeless shelter in Glendale, and someone bought up the homeless shelter in Kew Gardens, and some people saying it is not so bad.
You have noted your tolerance level for crime in your neighborhood, so that right there just shows that you find it acceptable to some degree. However others may not find it acceptable that live in areas where there is lower crime. I think that's the real problem. Crime happens everywhere sure, but we are seeing an uptick in certain quality of issues. More homeless, aggressive behavior, and so on, and the incident that I posted is sadly not the first time this year that a mentally disturbed homeless person has randomly attacked a kid. This is third or fourth time this has happened this year alone. Maybe it isn't disturbing to you because you don't think it happens enough, but any time that any kid is randomly attacked by someone with mental issues (particularly those with a history of randomly menacing others), I find that very disturbing. We have a problem in this City that this administration has been sweeping under the rug in general. Just look at the mess that "Thrive" has left...
Tolerance and acceptance are two different things. I accept the fact that it's getting cold outside. However, if I cannot tolerate the weather, I either dress warmer, or I stay inside. In regards to crime, I pretty much do the same. Either I tolerate it, or I make the decision to move. I'm not going to complain about crime in my area when the choice is mine to move. Which is why I don't complain about it.
In that respect as well, lets take this example. This incident, while troubling, is an abnormal occurrence for the area. And what I have a problem with is people thinking one isolated incident turns Kew Gardens into Caracas.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
If there is not enough crime, poverty and violence in NYC for you then move to Baltimore. Or just go to countries that people flee and bring the crime here to NYC, like Honduras.
This is just plain stupid and disrespecting having such a conversation.
I'm not sure whether this is considered politically correct to suggest, but I honestly believe certain people are severely deranged and ill or addicted to the point where they cannot live independently and should be institutionalized. We are talking about the people who, with even financial, medical and other help still lack the mental ability through illness or otherwise to function in society.
So for those who argue that involuntarily institutionalizing people is cruel, what's the alternative? Because right apparently our solution is to either jail or letting them live on the streets and both of those (to me) seem far worse than being placed in an institution where at least the claim is to try and treat these severe mental illnesses rather than just pretending it doesn't exist. And re: costs, jail is expensive and homeless outreach, shelter and housing for the ill-qualified is expensive, as is added law enforcement to police rising crime so I doubt there should be any problem finding funding for proper mental treatment facilities and necessary oversight.
To date, I think we've done these people a huge disservice by closing the institutions and turning them onto the streets and prisons, when reforming and modernizing the institutions would have likely been far less expensive and yielded better results. But I'm not a politician, so...
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