PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Passion was high at Park Square on Tuesday as several dozen community members protested a proposed ordinance that would ban "loitering" in medians.
"The city of Pittsfield has experienced an increase in public safety issues relating to pedestrian use of and entry into the public roadways," the mayor's office said in a statement.
There have been numerous complaints about panhandling in medians, especially in the Allendale intersection, and Marchetti had first floated the idea as a councilor in 2023.
Protesters say the ordinance may be framed as a public safety ordinance, but actually targets poor and vulnerable community members. And that criminalizing activities such as panhandling and protesting infringes on First Amendment rights and freedom of speech.
"I'm passionate that those without voices are going to be even more silenced. Those who are marginalized are going to be more marginalized. We can do better in Pittsfield than making the folks that make us uncomfortable go away. So I'm here for that. This ordinance is deliberately making it hard to do life," said Margot Page, Berkshire Interfaith Organizing president.
The ordinance states that every pedestrian has the right to use public ways in the city except where pedestrian travel is expressly or prohibited by law, regulation, signage, road closure, or other safety or emergency factors.
This is applicable within 100 yards of the intersection of West Street and Center Street, East Street and First Street, South Street and East Housatonic Street, and all of the intersections at Allendale Shopping Center and Park Square — where Tuesday's protesters were gathered. Any person found to violate this section would be subject to criminal and noncriminal penalties, which could be fines anywhere from $50 to $300.
"These intersections are identified based upon the number of accidents that have occurred over a period. We understand that members of our community may not agree with this proposal, but the Mayor's intention is to be proactive in preventing injuries or additional harm between people and cars," the mayor's office said.
"The city has had many situations in which we have been more reactive, and the safety improvements were made after an incident occurred. This proposed ordinance is one way to take a more proactive approach based upon the data collected for accidents in the identified intersections."
Berkshire Interfaith Organizing planned the protest, which brought in a diverse group of people, including business owners, panhandlers, and people who do not usually participate in social activism efforts, several protesters said.
"Like many other members of the community, I'm alarmed and disappointed at the proposed ordinance that's currently being considered in Pittsfield. It's being framed as a public safety ordinance relating to street medians, important intersections like those around which we are today at Park Square. And, I'm not opposed to measures that improve public safety, but that's not really what this is about, said Sean Manion, the organization's director.
The ordinance targets poor and vulnerable community members who are out just asking for help, he said.
Rather than making it illegal to panhandle in medians, the city should instead address the root causes of poverty and homelessness in the community, such as investing in solutions to the housing crisis and supporting programming that helps people, Manion said.
"I know the city is already doing a lot about that, but I think we can always do more. I think supporting models like transitional housing, supportive housing, really combining that housing resource with other resources that help people get away from substance abuse or substance misuse, resources that help people get jobs that they might not otherwise be able to get," he said.
"I think we can do more to de-stigmatize the circumstances that people are coming out of so that an employer, for example, would be more willing and more likely to hire somebody that maybe they wouldn't consider without that encouragement."
Protestor Uriel Rizzuti highlighted the importance of free speech and assembly, particularly in the context of protests, which are often under threat.
The ordnance doesn't just impact the homeless and vulnerable community members. It also prevents activists from being able to stand on the medians to spread the word about their cause, whether it's saving the bees, ending the war, or employees fighting to form a union. It also prevents business owners from advertising in the median, Manion said.
Ephraim Alexander Schwartz, leadership team member, said the ordinance worsens the situation for homeless and vulnerable individuals by creating additional obstacles for them to escape life on the streets, as having a criminal record can severely limit their opportunities.
"We're going to expect more people lashing out in more unpredictable ways, and we're expecting to see a rise in all kinds of mental health problems, and all of the comorbidities of poverty would increase, which includes interpersonal violence and displacement," said Michael Hitchcock, co-director of Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds Inc.
"And once people start getting in that criminal record, as we already know, it becomes harder to access any of the services they need. So we would see this intensifying a problem that already exists and still leaving the basic problem unsolved."
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year has resulted in the criminalization of homelessness, leading to encampments being dismantled, individuals losing their belongings, and some being imprisoned for being in public spaces, protester Theo Dimin said.
In Grants Pass v. Johnson, the court found that criminally punishing unsheltered people is not "cruel and unusual" punishment. Grants Pass, Ore., had passed an ordinance making it illegal for homeless people to camp or sleep in its public parks.
"They are being placed in prisons for the crime of existing in public as if we don't have the right to life in this nation," said Dimin.
"And that will spread here if we let it, and it will affect real human lives that it will tear apart. It will harm families. It will harm individuals. It will make it harder for people who are in trouble and struggling to get help. It's no way forward."
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