#peachtree-pine

[wabe-atlanta]

Homeless Advocates Brace for Freezing Temps Without Peachtree-Pine | 90.1 FM WABE

A stretch of freezing nights is expected to hit Atlanta this weekend. In years past, downtown Atlanta's Peachtree-Pine shelter, for all its flaws, could ta

[meonmarta]

Route 110 to Pine St.: Changing Demographics

Today was the date of Atlanta run-off election, so I took the 110 from home (Woodruff Park stop) up to my polling place, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, located on Peachtree between the Downtown Connector and Pine Street. It was interesting to note the demographic shift among ridership now that the Peachtree-Pine shelter has closed. 

Previously the bus often had the feel of a sort of homeless shuttle. I would often find myself waiting at the bus stop by the park along with one or two people with carts, garbage bags or suitcases holding all their belongings. Sometimes we’d chat, usually about when the bus was coming, and I’d also help if they had trouble getting their stuff onto the bus. On board the bus, there would be numerous passengers in a similar situation who’d gotten on at Five Points, with all their stuff. Or they wouldn’t have their stuff but were clearly indigent and living on the street -- dirty, reeking of sweat, liquor, lack of hygiene. There were also people with mental health issues who would be acting strange, like talking to themselves or maybe trying to talk to others but not making sense. So it was like a whole bus of people who needed help -- along with me and a scattering of people who might be tourists, people who were heading for Midtown or further north for work, etc. When the bus would pull up to the stop just before the church, or the one after it at Pine, a whole load of people would get off. (And there was a pretty much permanent crowd of people waiting at the stops to go north and south from Pine.) 

Today when I got on, there were far fewer of the really indigent people -- nobody with their belongings, nobody who looked or smelled really bad. It was almost all men and yeah, they most likely were homeless, but they had the look like they were staying in a reliable shelter where they were keeping fairly clear and sane. I don’t want to say the bus was less “scary,” because I was never scared before, but before it was like I was thrown into a group of the very worst-off of homeless people. Who are still out there and in need, but apparently not riding the 110 so much now that Peachtree-Pine is closed.

[cityhaul]

Peachtree-Pine: The end...again

From Creative Loafing: 

"A panel of three judges yesterday rejected an appeal by the Metro Task Force for the Homeless over its long-running dispute with the city over unpaid water bills at the enormous shelter the nonprofit operates at the intersection of Peachtree and Pine streets.

The ruling's being called a major victory for City Hall, which has jousted with the task force for years. The shelter has been called inefficient and a magnet for crime by some neighbors and city officials. At the same time, it's been embraced by supporters and some activists as a vital resource for the metro region's homeless population. "

You probably won't hear either side declare victory or admit defeat, as this is at least the third time this story has been "over."

"It's unclear if the court's ruling is a final blow for the facility, possibly marking the end of a long dispute between the task force, city, and downtown business community. In May 2010, Ichthus Community Trust, a corporation controlled by Norcross-based commercial developer Manny Fialkow, bought two outstanding liens on the property and foreclosed on the shelter. The task force has fought eviction since.

A spokesman for Mayor Kasim Reed tells CL that the city is 'weighing all options at this time' regarding the shelter, including what to do about any outstanding water bills.

Steve Hall, the task force's attorney, declined to discuss the ruling and future legal moves with CL, citing our previous coverage of the shelter.

Anita Beaty, the task force executive director who's earned critics and loyal allies for how she's operated the facility, did briefly tell CL last night that the nonprofit has 'a lot of options. This is certainly not a final one.'"

 In the event that the shelter is closed before everyone reading this reaches retirement age, two giant questions remain:

Where will all of those men go? There are already a lot of people sleeping on the street for a mile in every direction around Peachtree-Pine. The City's Unsheltered No More initiative has a goal of getting 800 chronically homeless people into housing by the end of 2013. If the shelter closes, they have no choice but to at least get well on the way to that number. Otherwise, the whole neighborhood between Ponce, Ralph McGill, West Peachtree and Central Park Place could degenerate into full-on crisis.

What other use can that huge building be put to? The only other things on that corner are an office building that doesn't interact at all with the street and empty lot/parking lot combos. We need more dead real estate right there (or anywhere downtown) like we need hungry tigers running around. At least tigers can be sent back where they came from.