Ward 16 Cleveland City Councilman Brian Kazy has received a “growing” number of resident complaints about people asking for money at highway exits.
Kazy, whose ward includes a healthy amount of highway territory, including parts of I-90, I-480 and I-71, did what any well-read and well-informed councilman would do in response: He reminded those residents that asking for money, either verbally or with a sign, is protected speech and that Cleveland, after being sued by the ACLU in 2017, repealed its panhandling ordinance.
Just kidding.
Instead, in an interview with Channel 5, Kazy admitted knowing it was constitutionally protected behavior but said Cleveland police can get “creative” in curtailing those rights.
“We’re going to start using enforcement by Cleveland police to get them off of the off ramps and out from underneath the bridges,” Kazy told Channel 5. “There’s loitering, there’s impeding the flow of traffic, there’s a couple of creative ways that CPD can go ahead and enforce them.”
It’s unclear what “enforcement” he’s talking about here, given that Cleveland doesn’t have a loitering ordinance and people asking for money don’t stand in the middle of the road. Most likely, Kazy is talking about simply using the police to move them from where they have every right to be, and using “creativity” to do so under illegal means.
“The City should be looking for creative ways to get people out of poverty, not trying to find a way to limit people’s First Amendment right to ask for help,” says Joe Mead, a CSU law professor and Associate General Counsel of the ACLU of Ohio who has worked on panhandling lawsuits locally. “This seems as good a time as any to remind the councilman — and all of Cleveland — that there is no city law prohibiting loitering, and that such laws have been struck down by the Supreme Court. The motorists cited in the article all seem to agree that panhandlers haven’t been a problem for traffic flow or safety of motorists.”
Kazy also latched onto a Linda Taylor moment, telling the station some people collect “up to $500 a day” and that one person was found who “lives in Parma, works at the Jack Casino, and then stands at West 150th and I-71 on his days off collecting cash.” Nevermind that it doesn’t much matter where someone lives, or if they have a job, or if that job doesn’t cover all of their expenses, or anything at all, except that they can stand there and ask for money all they want, because it’s protected speech.
(Not for nothing, but WKYC spent time with those who ask for money at exit ramps a few years ago and found, much to no one’s surprise, that the reality is $15 to $25 a day.)
Summit County late last year repealed its panhandling ordinance, which had targeted those who ask for money alongside exit ramps, after a lawsuit by the ACLU of Ohio.
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This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 3, 2020.
Educate yourself. Drugs, alcohol,mental health problems and poverty all usually co-exist, not surprisingly.It’s a pretty safe bet that these people are not happy and if they were capable of changing their situations they would jump at the chance. If you are fortunate enough to not have any of those challenges in your life, maybe try to redirect your energy into being a happy grateful person instead of being critical and judgemental towards those less fortunate than you.
Of course the fine people at the ACLU don’t see the same panhandlers every day, working in groups of 4 or 5, and at the end of their “day” they simply walk to one of the numerous drug houses where they purchase heroin. We’ve watched, we’ve followed, we know who they are, we have watched them overdose right on W. 130. They are not homeless, we know where they live. They are addicts. In order to reduce the number of addicts, we need to eliminate or reduce the number of dealers. CPD and Brian Kazy have worked tirelessly to get these dealers arrested and charged. We have had numerous overdose fatalities here, just two days ago another one left in a body bag. If you watch them work in groups and see where they go and what they do, everyone would think twice before they hand them any money. There are programs available for those that want help. Inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization, you name it; but they have to want to get clean. Inner ring suburbs don’t have the panhandler problems. They don’t stand south of Brookpark Road because Brookpark, Parma, and Brooklyn police do not tolerate panhandlers.
Put down your mouse and get out of the house, Vince. Leave your cozy downtown digs and spend some time in Wards 16 and 17 and get a Real Life look at these parasitic junkies.
Go out to I-90 and Warren Road and watch them change shifts. They’re so organized they’re almost like like they belong to a union. They drive cars and even share an apartment within walking disance of that corner.
Find someone who lives in Ward 16 or 17 and ask them for a guided tour. Plenty of us will be all too glad to show you around, and then maybe…just maybe…you’ll quit defending these lowlife losers on this site.
Ever stop and think about how visitors to Cleveland react when they leave the airport and see these clowns as they enter the city? They go home and say “Yeah, it’s true…I saw it with my own eyes…Cleveland is the shithole city everyone says it is. Vultures…vultures everywhere,,,begging on the corners.” Places like Westlake, Parma, Lakewood, Fairview Park, and Brookpark don’t have this problem. Only Cleveland has it, because only Cleveland allows it.
If you want to help make Cleveland a better place, Vince…quit shilling for downtown projects so much and get behind cleaning up the human stains in the Far West Side neighborhoods. Hell, they’re even panhandling on residential streets out here now, and going door-to-door like the pushy salespeople do! Wake up and smell the stench!
They’re always at the 71 exit ramp at 150th, and that is a loooong light. I’ve never seen any aggressive actions, impeding traffic, etc. Let em be, man.
Cops told Kazy to go screw himself cause they have more serious stuff like murder to deal with
His ward doesn’t have a monopoly on this. There is almost always somebody stationed at the W 28th Shoreway ramps, as well as the 25th and 41st/44th ramps on 90. Don’t wanna give? Then do what thousands of other people do every day–don’t give. Councilman Kazy, you look like you’ve missed as many meals as I have (which is not many), and there you are begrudging somebody whose life is in the gutter. Go grab a beer at Smedley’s and stop being so self-righteous. If you have personal experience which leads you to believe that there might be some sort of organized criminal activity, then go talk to somebody at First District. Don’t kick people when they’re down, because it’s a bad look and it’s bad karma.
“The City should be looking for creative ways to get people out of poverty.” By that you mean spend more money? The city already has one of the highest income tax rates and THE highest sales tax rate in the state. Still the poorest city in the state.
Andrew, do you even live in Ward 16 or Ward 17? They come out here because they think the folks out here are stupid, soft, gullible soft touches. Some of them are just organized racketeers. The rest are homeless from other parts of town who come out to West Park on the rapid because it’s not a long bus ride.
The word in the shelters is that West Park is easy pickings and that the off-ramps are places to make a lot of easy money. Make them go somewhere else, and find fresh chumps with more money than the people of West Park have. I’ve heard that the prime spot, one they fight over, is the off ramp from 237 onto Brookpark Road. And that these “homeless” arrive there in their in cars.
Kicking somebody who’s temporarily down is one thing, Andrew, but kicking a druggie or drunky down the road is another. It’s all a royal scam, and they deserve whatever kicks in the butts they get. Give to charities or helping agencies, but don’t give directly to street people, most of whom are crazies, alkies, and junkies.Don’t even look at them. Once you make eye contact, you’re toast. Don’t turn the other cheek…turn your whole damn head!
That would be like trying to turn a cat into a dog. You’re an idiot.
Some of those beggars are gay prostitutes. Well they can be for money. But for that they want at least 10 dollers.
Why would cops be the solution for this? Why wouldn’t social workers?
The panhandlers who stand in the median (like at Denison exiting 71N) are fine. The scammers who pretend to have an emergency pulled over on the exit ramps (seen this at the e 9th exit of 90) are not okay. But I worry that the police will use the more rare disruptive cases to crack down on the former.
I see a lot of commenters seem to know everything about the lives of these desperate people since they call them criminals of one sort or another. How do you know them so well? Do you actually follow them and see them enter drug houses, sell themselves for money, or commit any crime at all? Where does your information come from? You know NOTHING about them or what they’re going through. All you see is something you’d rather not because God forbid you be a decent person and care about another human being. Maybe some of them do commit crimes but it is wrong to assume that all homeless are criminals. Each person is responsible for they’re own actions and an individuals actions do not, and should never, represent the whole! As someone who struggles every day to keep the roof over my head and food in my belly, I hate that I can’t spare anything to help the homeless and desperate. And I am disgusted at the way people attack the homeless like this. They aren’t breaking any laws and should not be targeted and treated like garbage because some high and mighty fat idiots don’t like facing the horrid realities of poverty!
Try telling someone who lives in Wards 16 and 17 that all these people are either “homeless” or “desperate”…when most of them know differently. Many of these moochers have residences and make money. The residents most affected by this plague will either laugh in your face or spit in your eye.
Keyboard warriors got triggered. It’s not hard to implement anti poverty programs … Many genuine socialist countries like Denmark and Norway have done this. Start by making vocational schools and related supports available to everyone. Many of the new tech jobs only need 1 or 2 years of intensive training..not necessarily a bachelor.degree.
Typical empty-headed Liberal B.S.from totally indoctrinated college imbeciles.
It’s not about anti-poverty, it’s about anti-work. For starters, the Danes and the Norwegians have a far better track record when it comes to most of them, if not all of them, having a work ethic. Too many Americans just don’t want to work. They’d rather get high and beg,. Or steal and, deal, lie and cheat, and step on people’s feet. Why should they show up at a job every goddam day when do-gooders and soft-touches and chumps will keep them alive?
Dont worry pretty soon one of the Demoncrats will have the totally original idea that we should be paying for housing for these people and they’ll use your money to build a community of tiny houses or just convert apartment buildings into free units. Free heroin too.
Be generous…give them some green…after you cough on it first.