Florida man, 90, is cited again for feeding the homeless

[TomCADem]

Source: LA Times

A 90-year-old Florida man continues to be cited and faces arrest for doing what he has done for 20 years - feed the homeless.

His staff says he doesn't care.

A new ordinance, which went into effect Friday, is intended to help Fort Lauderdale better control the downtown homeless population, the Sun Sentinel reports, and "limits where outdoor feeding sites can be located, requires the permission of property owners and says the groups have to provide portable toilets."

Activist Arnold Abbott of Fort Lauderdale was cited by police Wednesday night, marking the second time this week he has been in hot water with the law for giving food to the area's homeless population, said Minister Mark Sims of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Parish.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-florida-man-arrest-homeless-20141105-story.html

[Odin2005]

1. "His staff says he doesn't care." THAT'S THE SPIRIT!

Keep fighting the good fight, old-timer!

[Judi Lynn]

2. More on Arnold Abbott: Elderly Ft. Lauderdale Man Arrested for Feeding the Homeless

Elderly Ft. Lauderdale Man Arrested for Feeding the Homeless
updated 11/05/2014 AT 04:30 PM EST
•originally published 11/05/2014 AT 01:15 PM EST

"I fully believe that I am my brother's keeper." That's 90-year-old Arnold Abbott, a homeless-rights activist from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who's now facing jail time for the crime of feeding the city's homeless.

A new ordinance in the city effectively bans groups from feeding the homeless in public areas and on Sunday, police charged two ministers and Abbott under it. They could face up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine for the "crime."

"One of the police officers came over and said, 'Drop that plate right now,' as if I was carrying a weapon," Abbott told Ft. Lauderdale CNN affiliate WPLG.

In 1999, Abbott sued the city for banning him from feeding the homeless on the area's beach – and won. "I'm going to have to go to court again to sue the city of Fort Lauderdale," said Abbott, who serves hundreds of meals for the homeless in the local Sanctuary Church kitchen every week. "These are the poorest of the poor," he continued. "They have nothing. Don't have a roof over their heads, and who could turn them away?"

More:
http://www.people.com/article/homeless-advocate-arrested-florida

[geomon666]

3. Keep up the good fight.

Hopefully this brings more attention on the city's war on the homeless.

[KinMd]

4. I'll bet a years salary the the one's trying to stop him..

call themselves Christians.

[tokenlib]

5. Check out the comments on the city's facebook page

The comments are blistering, the mayor is a democrat and gave a lame response on the facebook page that fails to explain the current situation. And all I want to do is make a tasteless comment about the flood coming in the next hundred years to cleanse the city of its wickedness....https://www.facebook.com/cityofFortLauderdale

The veteran is a decent human being and I hope President Obama hears about this and calls the mayor on this.

[Earth_First]

8. Thanks for the link...

Blistering indeed.

Good.

I left some feedback of my own on their recent post which attempts to clarify their ordinance.

What a travesty.

[LiberalElite]

15. I left a couple of comments - thanks!

[UglyGreed]

6. People are not allowed

to help those who are down on their luck or perhaps suffering from a mental illness. Oh what a wonderful world we have.

[Chemisse]

7. Please don't feed the pigeons - um, I mean homeless.

It is truly despicable that human beings can be treated like a pest population.

[Sparhawk60]

9. No One is Making Money

The main issue is that no one is making money off of the operation.

What he needs to do is pay off enough City council members to win a no-bid contract to feed the homeless. He then takes the millions of dollars, passes out a few stale sandwiches, spend the rest on his McMansion and yacht. (all in the name of overhead of course)



/Don’t forget to set aside enough money to win the next no-bid contract from the city.
/rinse, repeat
/everyone is happy
/except the homeless of course

[Brigid]

12. And we have our thread winner.

But I can't decide whether to do this or this

[cab67]

10. I'm probably going to get into serious trouble around here for saying this….

….but I actually have mixed feelings about this.

Mr. Abbott is a courageous and generous man. The world needs far more people like him in it. What he's doing isn't wrong.

And yet, what he's doing isn't just handing a sandwich to someone down on his or her luck. He's feeding large numbers of people. Which is good, except to do so, he's unilaterally deciding how public land (a park) will be used. The volume of his service - and I agree it's a needed service - probably makes it very hard for others to use that space. In most communities, charity events attracting large numbers of people to a public area usually require some sort of permit, not (only) because people are trying to make money off of them, but because of liability issues.

I think the law he's fighting goes way too far, and he obviously shouldn't be in prison over it. Perhaps Ft. Lauderdale could reach out to help Mr. Abbott find an appropriate place for his service? And I don't mean an empty lot miles out of town, either - surely, there are places in town where those in need can be provided with a decent meal by someone genuinely trying to help.

[Bohemianwriter]

11. In case you may have missed it...

The 1st Amendment protects people to gather at any public place.

So why is it a problem that many homeless people gather in one place to get a bite to eat?

Because they are homeless and dirty?

This ban is clearly a violation of the 1st Amendment...

[cab67]

14. Sort of.

Municipalities can issue restrictions under some circumstances. They can require permits for groups over a certain size, groups using certain infrastructure (tables, shelters, barbecues, etc.), or groups serving food or drink. Space is limited, and having a large group meet in a park limits the number of others able to do so. Large groups cause more wear and tear on public infrastructure than smaller groups or individuals; more people means more trash and more opportunities for damage, regardless of who's involved. And although revenue is probably a big reason for this, it's also a matter of liability. If someone eats food being provided in a public area, and gets food poisoning, they could file a lawsuit. Someone might commit a violent crime against another participant. It's not a matter of moral right or wrong - it's a matter of reality. (And I'm not singling out the homeless here. Food poisoning and mugging can happen with church groups and corporate fundraisers just as much as with groups of homeless people.)

I had a large party for a a group of my students who were finishing their theses in a city park a couple of years ago. I use the same park for free all the time by myself, but to have a group with more than a certain number of people (I no longer remember the number) and use the grills, I had to get a permit and pay a fee. That way, the city would know who was responsible if picnic tables were damaged or if the area was trashed. I also signed a waiver promising not to serve alcohol and absolving the city of liability. If someone got drunk and fell out of a tree, they'd know who to find.

And like I said, what Mr Abbott is doing is wonderful. I've lived in areas with large homeless communities, helped when I could, and was thankful that others could do more. There should be a way to enable Mr. Abbott to continue his good work.

[turbinetree]

13. Scott

Now that you bought yourself 4 more years of more Florida destruction under your Scott plan, why don't you as a liar go in front of the TV and lets say take some of the wealth that you gained illegally by defrauding a medical program in the state while you were the head CEO of the company that did this crap, and put it into food banks in your state, and ask your right wing legislature and your city council hypocrites to stop passing laws to create a system of death camps in your state so that when someone gives food to the homeless its is not against the law------ I mean really