Homeless offered to leave the city (New York, Albany: fit in, real estate, gynecologists)

[nycricanpapi]

This sounds like a great idea. Now, less homeless will leave me alone when I am in NYC

[Infamous92]

I think its a good idea because many homeless people don't have the means to contact family and then afford to leave. It will be a better life for them.

[Fred314X]

Originally Posted by nycricanpapi

This sounds like a great idea. Now, less homeless will leave me alone when I am in NYC

Yes, but you won't be able to escape them whenever you're not in NYC.

[atlantagreg30127]

This has actually been a very hot topic lately in the Atlanta area, as it appears Atlanta is one of the bigger destinations the people are picking to go to, or at least perceived to be so:

New York Sending Homeless To Georgia - News Story - WSB Atlanta

NYC Giving Homeless One-Way Tickets to Atlanta - 11Alive.com | WXIA | Atlanta, GA

Different ways to look at this. There is a large difference between a "homeless" person, and a "vagrant". Atlanta has a HUGE problem with vagrants downtown - enough so that it prevents locals and visitors alike from avoiding some spots of downtown altogether. There are plenty of services for them to utilize, but most of them refuse to do so. Only those who are truly legit homeless people use these services, and lift themselves up eventually - the vagrants could care less, though.

The local perception is that many vagrants in NYC who have family here will try to misuse the program in order to get a free ticket here. Once here, they will not go to their family to live, but basically get off the bus (or plane) and head straight for the streets downtown. In other words, while a family might agree to take them in, do they really do so, or if so, how long does the person stay with them before they leave and head back to the local streets, adding to the local issues?

Anyway... just thought I'd post the news links to show a local perspective on the topic. Atlanta is in the middle of a violent crime wave as well, so the people here are WIRED, and anything that comes up on top of that (like this) just get them freaked out.

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by nycricanpapi

This sounds like a great idea. Now, less homeless will leave me alone when I am in NYC

I agree it is a great idea, I predict alot of the New York homeless will become Florida homeless.

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news..._an_influ.html

[tpk-nyc]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

This has actually been a very hot topic lately in the Atlanta area, as it appears Atlanta is one of the bigger destinations the people are picking to go to, or at least perceived to be so:

New York Sending Homeless To Georgia - News Story - WSB Atlanta

NYC Giving Homeless One-Way Tickets to Atlanta - 11Alive.com | WXIA | Atlanta, GA

Different ways to look at this. There is a large difference between a "homeless" person, and a "vagrant". Atlanta has a HUGE problem with vagrants downtown - enough so that it prevents locals and visitors alike from avoiding some spots of downtown altogether. There are plenty of services for them to utilize, but most of them refuse to do so. Only those who are truly legit homeless people use these services, and lift themselves up eventually - the vagrants could care less, though.

The local perception is that many vagrants in NYC who have family here will try to misuse the program in order to get a free ticket here. Once here, they will not go to their family to live, but basically get off the bus (or plane) and head straight for the streets downtown. In other words, while a family might agree to take them in, do they really do so, or if so, how long does the person stay with them before they leave and head back to the local streets, adding to the local issues?

Anyway... just thought I'd post the news links to show a local perspective on the topic. Atlanta is in the middle of a violent crime wave as well, so the people here are WIRED, and anything that comes up on top of that (like this) just get them freaked out.

They are freaked out because of such poorly written and misleading articles. The phrases "anywhere ... they want to go" and "At least one family picked Paris" are directly contradicted by the sentence "All it takes is for a relative to agree to take them in." Most people homeless New Yorkers don't have relatives in Paris. If having a relative is a requirement then "anywhere they want" is obviously not true.

The photo they chose to include is intentionally misleading and very different from the photos of the actual participants of the program used in the Times.

Homelessness is such an emotional issue that people on both the left and the right have misread (intentionally?) the original article.

[gradstudent77]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

How do you think large cities like NYC got more than its fair share of poor and homeless? Decades back several states would send their welfare recipients to NYC (and other large cities) by bus and continue giving them welfare until the people qualified as residents eligible to receive welfare in the new state. How come that was apparently okay? This free ticket thing is certainly not the blatant and deliberate transferring of the welfare rolls that other states got away with for years. If somebody wants to go back home and has a home to go to, why not help them do so instead of paying for them to stay somewhere they don't want to stay at anymore?

Very true. Also, when kids run away from home anywhere in the metro, where do they go? They either stay with a friend or head into penn or port authority. Hell, I've done it myself.

[gradstudent77]

Originally Posted by dhanu86

Can't come back without a job? Is this not a free country?

They've already been sheltered and offered a free ride to someone who will house them. Why in the world should they be allowed back without a means to support themselves?

[gradstudent77]

Originally Posted by ddhboy

Newark is too far for the poor to commute from, South Bronx is being gentrified, and Linden Houses cannot possibly facilitate all of the applicants who would need to be rehoused under your plan.

20 minute path ride to WTC or maybe 25 to 33rd st at a cost of $1.75 (cheaper if you buy a pass) is far?

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by trustfundhipster

The last time I checked there was affordable housing in Newark, South Bronx and East New York.

Newsflash: The South Bronx and East New York are part of "the City." I am shocked that someone who is a hipster with a trust fund wouldn't know that. According to your original post, their projects should be razed also, so how are the poor supposed to live there?