The bustle of urban streets and neighborhoods remain sustainable only for so long. With time, paving begins to wear, parking facilities become overcrowded, and security lags in the face of escalating crime.
A common choice among retailers, shopkeepers and business owners who have a stake in the area is to develop a Business Improvement District - an area developed and maintained by a tax levied on local property owners. The taxes pay for improving facilities, such as telephone poles, paving and parking spaces. The extra taxes also pay the salaries of new BID "ambassadors," guards who patrol the streets in order to maintain security. The ultimate goal: a face-lift that theoretically invites a prolonged boom in economic activity.
Providence's City Council recently approved the creation of such a BID downtown, a plan slated to take effect July 1.
But here's the rub: a BID has drastic implications for the lives of those who must call the streets their home. For the homeless, the creation of a BID ushers in even more insecurity into their lives. A BID sweeps the homeless under the rug to give consumers supposed peace of mind and increase the cosmetic appearance of the area it covers.
Last year, the One Rhode Island Coalition estimated that minimum-wage workers have to work 116 hours a week, year-round, in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Today, Rhode Island's housing crisis continues to worsen while its shelters offer the state's homeless population inadequate support. Eric Hirsch of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless indicates that since 1997, housing costs have increased at twice the rate of household income. The result: more and more Rhode Islanders without homes.
New York City's Grand Central Partnership BID, established in 1988, produced some haunting stories. BID businessmen hired formerly homeless men and women to patrol the streets for an hourly wage of $1.15 - a rate that was said to be justifiable due to the fact that the service was an outreach program for the homeless, not a legitimate job. In 1995, evidence surfaced revealing that the untrained members of this street team were using physical force and violence to remove non-offending homeless people from the streets.
Homeless people in Providence already have reason to fear police presence. The City Council recently passed - without public hearing - an ordinance banning "aggressive panhandling," which is partly defined by the use of an unreasonably loud speaking voice. Unchecked, the Providence Police now have the power to intimidate, harass or arrest any panhandler whom they deem to be aggressive.
To be sure, a BID in Providence will not necessarily violate the rights of the homeless. In Philadelphia, for example, police officers are required first to give panhandlers written and verbal warnings before being able to make an arrest. But the corruption of New York's BID authorities should make Providence just a bit more cautious in the endeavor to create its own BID.
In light of Providence's panhandling ordinance, People to End Homelessness is currently at work on a Homeless Bill of Rights, of sorts: a document delineating more specifically when, where and how a homeless person can remain in a public place without fear of harassment or intimidation. The group is also proposing a set of protocols for the BID ambassadors in order to ensure that no security officer can take advantage of a newfound position of power.
Grassroots groups like People to End Homelessness are fundamental in gaining equal rights for the homeless. But what's also necessary is our own awareness of Rhode Island's devastating homelessness and affordable housing crises. The BID is only one indirect part of this multi-faceted problem, but we still cannot ignore its implications.
If we can't solve the housing crisis today, we must accept that there will be men and women living on the streets tomorrow.
For now, though, the least we can do is try and make sure they don't have to live in increased fear.
Joshua Lerner '07 would like you to contact him about homelessness and affordable housing in Rhode Island.
