NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Downtown residents and merchants have been complaining to Talk of the Sound about this guy for months — David Conklin.
Conklin circles around the downtown area non-stop, throughout the day, hitting up everyone in downtown for money. He loiters outside stores, watches people get out of their cars, linger near ATM machines and otherwise makes a nuisance of himself. He is beyond persistent to the point of harassing people walking in downtown New Rochelle. He will ask people for money when they walk into a store and if they ignore him and then come back out with a purchase in hand he will accuse them of lying and demand money. This guy covers a lot of ground and appears to be an auto-pilot as he bounced from one person to the next. Obviously people are giving him money or he would have done away; I’ve seen it myself.
With the Christmas shopping season approaching this guy — and this friends — is only going to become more of a problem. Whatever “free speech” rights might exist for this guy pestering everyone for money, the merchants and residents in downtown ought to have the right not be harassed by this guy anymore. If necessary, throw him in a cage and release him upstate somewhere. Just get rid of him.
New Rochelle officials should look closely at this photo as they consider what sort of downtown they have created when the storefront churches are allow to block dozens of parking spaces on Main Street all day Sunday, when panhandlers rove the streets like a pack of rabid dogs, homeless people are eating out of overflowing trash cans throughout the downtown, transvestites are robbing wig stores, roving bands of kids are loitering on Anderson Street under the “no loitering signs” and store windows are plastered with “No Quarters without a Purchase” signs. For those brave enough (or foolish enough) to run this gauntlet of despair they can look forward to a fleet of squad cars descending on their vehicle as police offers fight with Community Service Officers for the privilege of meeting their quota by socking you with a $25.00 parking ticket the second your meter clicks over to “expired”. Given this, why would anyone want to shop or dine in downtown?
NRPD has got to take back control of our streets and the City and BID need to reverse policies that punish people for shopping or dining in downtown while rewarding beggars, thieves and scavengers.
You can have him
Special offer to those who defend this guy:
Post your address here, and I’ll personally deliver him to your neighborhood. Nothing like having your very own neighborhood panhandler. Forget Andy Griffith, you’ll be in your very own Mayberry. Sit back and watch as your kids, neighbors, and friends are harassed for a buck. Move over 4th of July, watch the fireworks when he is denied that dollar. You’ll be in stitches when he manipulates those worse off into buying him lunch. All this for the low low cost of $1.
Just off the top of my
Just off the top of my head:
1) Trash at the curb will never be property of the city of New Rochelle, as once someone throws it away, the person loses expectation of privacy and its up for grabs by anyone, including homeless people. This is backed by the US Supreme Court.
2) As a lifelong NR resident, Mr. Cox, the homeless situation in the downtown area was much worse than today. The police are strapped with manpower and are simply not going to “follow” a homeless person around. Although, I must agree I have seen an influx of this quality of life issue recently.
3) Yes, the residents at 41 Lockwood are walking “zombies” and if you think Main St is littered with this problem, ask the North Avenue business owners that are closer to Lockwood Ave.
Court ruling..
Ok,
So if the legal route cant be taken, what about tamper proof public waste cans? If there are bum proof benches, im sure someone produces bum proof cans. If we eliminate the source potentially this may get the bums to migrate elsewhere. Or possibly seek other more socially acceptable means of providing for their needs…like a JOB?
What about pressuring the powers that be at new rochelle HFA on 41 Lockwood to have some accountability of their mental patients/ crackheads/residents that wander our communities streets while out of their face on a cocktail of psychotropic drugs???
As for the police,’they need to get out of the squad cars and walk the streets where all these dirt bags hang out.. instead of sitting in the patrol car talking on their cell phones….why does an officer need to carry a cell phone anway if they have a radio? Seems like a uneeded distraction to me…
Bottles in bags
The beggars may be off-putting, but I have more of an issue with people drinking beverages out of brown paper bags, particularly in groups and at night. Is this against the law?
Some of these posts are
Some of these posts are laughable. First off, if they are just wandering around the streets and not breaking any laws the police have no power to do anything. Secondly, look up the “loitering laws” and you will see that is not an option in these cases. That does not mean, however, that other solutions can’t be found. For example, if there was a heavy police presence in the area (more bike and segways…not walking the beat) the people who offend many of you would probably not wander or hang around as much. Thirdly, the police officers who normally patrol downtown on bike and segway are now being forced into cars to cover the manpower shortages. As of now, the NRPD is around 170 officers, down from around 190. There is talk of going to 160. The mantra, according to a police officer friend of mine, is responding to calls is the priority over quality of life. Which is understandable. But, until the city realizes that quality of life issues are the key to a successful downtown, it is only going to get worse. More police are needed…Just ask Abdul! Personally speaking, I finally agree with Mr. Cox…go figure.
I agree to more police also,
I agree to more police also, now raise the taxes that are to low and lets hire them.
Taxes are too low?
What taxes are you talking about?
The City collects various taxes in the form of taxes and fees and takes on debt which is another form of taxation (since the debt has to be repaid). There are also various exemptions like STAR and abatements like those given to developers.
If you can specify what you have in mind perhaps there can be some discussion although I cannot think of a single serious person who thinks taxes are too low.
Before raising taxes, the City, the County and the School District ought to demonstrate they have been good stewards of the money they have taken already. We need a 20 year forensic audit of the all three.
From what Talk of the Sound has reported over the past 2+ years, I think a good case can be made that money that could be spent on hiring more cops (and firefighters and DPW workers, etc.) is going to line the pockets of crooks working within the City, School District and County. Let’s go through the books, clean up the corruption and see whether we can redirect funds going into the pockets the various liars, crooks and thieves documented by this site.
Then let’s talk about the tax situation.
If you are talking about ending the many tax abatements given to developers who never quite seem to deliver the benefits to the City they promise you will have my support.
Tax abatement’s run out,
Tax abatement’s run out, after they do, tax’s start. let take home depot for example it came with a 10 year abatement and is now on the tax roll, What if we didn’t get home depot and they went some were else. I can bet you no tax’s and no sale tax either.
by the way the sale tax covered the property tax and covered the New Rochelle part of it
Now to the Avalon, 30 year abatement should of been less IMO, but lets go with it. What if they never built here, if you were around here before they built it you would of said “Wow New Rochelle look like the south Bronx did in the 70’s, for the most part it was cleaned up from run down building to just run down parking lots
You have to ask which is better a small tax burden for 30 year or a blighted area. has any one done a assessment of how much of burden it is, what would the taxes be for run down parking lots the once were here.
I see a lot of people that live in the Avalon, I see them at the coffee shops, the curtain shop,new roc, the restaurants and the bars, gas stations and grocery stores all pay some sort of sale tax that would of been missed out on.
Yes some work in New York city and may not shop here or go out here, but I cant see that being a high number.
You have to look at it this way, in like 24 years from now you will be getting some extra tax’s and from what you said Mr cox “It’s going to line the pockets of crooks working within the City, School District and County.” For now i think it a good asset to New Rochelle, heck 24 year from now there maybe a dozen building like the Avalon 1&2 in the area, maybe they will come at a lesser abatement or no abatement at all. and just think when you look back at it. It all came from sacrifices of Tax. You could say that no tax can bring you more tax
I don’t think the abatement’s is what all the Tax issue is, it would of helped, but I think in the long run we will be fine.
Mr Cox wrote: “tax abatement’s given to developers who never quite seem to deliver the benefits to the City they promise you will have my support.”
Benefits of tax abatement’s come only after the end of the abatement’s
As for the “low tax’ statement, most comments here are about how theirs no police around, well they cost money and if you increase the tax’s you can pay for more them. If they want more they will have to pay more, plain and simple, If it has become a problem then you tax’s are to low to help deal with the situation then you need to raise them. And yes It’s sounds crazy, but if you can find a way to do it with out raising tax’s and get the quality of life you all so desire, then let’s hear it!
I can’t take it anymore
I’m a downtown resident and I’m really losing patience with this place. There is no effort from the city to make it a better place to live. No visionaries in charge. Nobody who gives a real crap or knows what a thriving city should look like. I’m grossed out every day I have to walk from one end of main street to the other. It’s only a matter of time until I start looking for a new place to live. Then all the creeps can have their empty, dirty downtown. That’s what they want anyway, right?
MAJOR Quality Of Life Issue.
This is a great story.. After reading this, I just HAD to Join this Blog…
I am a Downtown Business owner, and have been here since 2005, I have come to the conclusion that the majority of these panhandler/garbage pickers/psychopath/drunken/dope addicts on the streets of Downtown New Rochelle are NOT HOMELESS, they are actually residents of the New Rochelle HFA located at 41 Lockwood Avenue, YES they have a roof over their heads, a place to sleep and eat ect… I dont know what kind of home it is, but they all look like they are on some kind of psychotropic drugs, wandering the streets, eating garbage out of cans, picking up half smoked cigarettes off the floor and harassing business owners,shoppers and residents. You can build 10 more trumps, open a Nordstroms on Main Street and 50 Trendy restaurants, but the bottom line is with these creeps scavenging garbage and harassing people for money and making shoppers feel uncomfortable, this city will not amount to SHIT. THEY MUST GO!!!
So what are the possible solutions to this problem?
1. Create Legislation that states that once trash is placed in a public waste receptacle it becomes PROPERTY of the CITY OF NEW ROCHELLE. If someone is caught picking by code enforcement or police, a ticket is isssued. (now the cops and the code enforcement can fight about who can give this ticket and better meet their monthly quota.)
2. Replace current garbage cans with ones that are tamper proof..they have bum proof benches, im sure someone makes bum proof cans!
3. Shutdown New Rochelle HFA
4. Hold New Rochelle HFA accountable for their crazy residents/patients that blight our city and harass residents and business owners alike.
These are a few solutions Ive been thinking of for years, please share your solutions to this growing problem…
I like #1, so we give a
I like #1, so we give a ticket to a homeless guy, that should work! lol, hum it just might if he gets money for all the cans he gets out of garbage then after liven expenses he can pay the ticket lol
#1
Actually, the legitmate homeless person would probably migrate elsewhere…probably to another city where garbage scavanging is legal… The law would act as a deterant..as for the new rochelle HFA creeps.. Well say if they didnt pay the ticket, depending on how the legislation is written, a bench warrant could be issued for their arrest. After a few tickets, perhaps they will figure out garbage scavaging isnt so lucrative anymore and they will retire their ways. Besides if they have a roof over their head a place to sleep and food in their stomach, why do they need to garbage pick and beg and harass? For crack? Dope? Alchohol? Cigarettes? The only people that benifit from them being around is the corner liquor store, the bodegas and the drug dealers.
Just Pulling a Lobo
Do not worry everyone…this man is looking to run for New Rochelle City Judge and is passing through from the mid-west.. Maybe he is settling for a “Woman”. No matter as he can find support in the New Rochelle GOP !
New Rochelle Railroad Station
Add the station to the long list of “Quality of Life Issues” that plague New Rochelle.Every morning the homeless are sleeping on the benches or doing their laundry in the bathrooms.Calling the police is a negative response. Their best
answer is that they are short handed. I don’t want to hear that especially when
I am signing my check for taxes
Ugly, ugly, ugly
The ugliest thing in that post, Mr. Cox, was the way you suggested caging this man, then went on to equate panhandlers and transvestites and finally implied that, because they do not live your lifestyle, theirs must be one of despair.
Shame on you.
the “man” is a parasite
He belongs in a cage.
I was going to say that your
I was going to say that your way of thinking belongs in a cage also, but I wont! all i can say is you need help more the that homeless guy. It’s to bad he cant leave a comment for you.
he is not “homeless”
Your premise is false. He is not homeless. Given this, your comments here are uninformed and nonsensical.
Call it what you want but being a drunk who follows people into stores and banks, waits outside their cars until they try to pay the meter, harasses people, puts his hands on people, jabs his fingers in people’s faces and demands money to be left alone, is not a “lifestyle choice”.
I often find myself quoting Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. so maybe I better read a biography or two. It was Holmes who said:
“The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.”
He has crossed this line more than once and soon enough people will begin to file complaints about his threatening behavior and he will be arrested. I’ve seen him enough and rest assured if he lays one finger on me I will be sure to file a complaint for battery. I would encourage all readers to do likewise and get him and any one like him off our streets.
Remember, if you see something, say something.
maybe read this agian!
“Why arent the police watching”
Submitted by Above you all on Mon, 10/25/2010 – 17:52.
Maybe they are, how do you know their not! and maybe there waiting for him to do something wrong! Asking for money is not a crime until someone speaks up on said there being harassed, and standing around or walking around is not a crime, unless loitering (staying around one place) but as been pointed out he moves around a lot. Has any one complained? have they talked to this guy already? any 911 that this guy is bothering someone?
You should start campaign to discourage people from giving food and money to panhandlers, maybe he’s not the problem, should jail someone that gives them money or food lol, maybe they are the problem or part of it.
But in the end he probably needs some change for the parking meter in front of the church that he cant park in front of any way
dick
this guy should get struck by a bolt of lightning, or hang himself in his jail cell
yep, This should happen to
yep, This should happen to every father or son, that has had life go the wrong way for him.
you know nothing about this guy…
…but are very quick to justify his behavior.
How do you expect to be taken seriously?
Do honest, hardworking people — shoppers, residents, merchants — not have rights in your world? Or do we have to give ourselves over to the lowest common denominator and accept bad behavior as a “freedom”.
So it’s okay that other say
So it’s okay that other say he should be “hit with bolt of lightning, or hang himself in his jail cell”
or as you say “he belongs in a cage”
your comments bring you down to his level
If you meant jail over cage, like a cage for a dog or a monkey you used a bad choice of a word. for someone that just has done nothing that wrong, but maybe scare you or make you fell unconformable to say he belong in a cage is Dumb
Parking spots
Today I was looking to park on main and many of the parking spots were taken up by traffic cones placed in front of one of the store front churches.
Ask NRPD
I am told that a major part of the problem is that an NRPD sergeant is both responsible for traffic enforcement and a member of one of the storefront chuches. He has apparently worked it out so that his fellow church members do not have to abide by the law in downtown.
Once again, the law is set aside based on the whims of one man.
Welcome to New Rochelle.
relocate pannhandeler
south side man
Jost bring him up the north end shopping center , drope him of in front of Star Bucks SEE WHAT HAPPENS THEN>>>>>
Face of Downtown
I saw this guy about 5 times today on main st ifo chase bank just standing around and then walking down north av by anderson st. Why arent the police watching this guy????
“Why arent the police watching”
Maybe they are, how do you know their not! and maybe there waiting for him to do something wrong! Asking for money is not a crime until someone speaks up on said there being harassed, and standing around or walking around is not a crime, unless loitering (staying around one place) but as been pointed out he moves around a lot. Has any one complained? have they talked to this guy already? any 911 that this guy is bothering someone?
You should start campaign to discourage people from giving food and money to panhandlers, maybe he’s not the problem, should jail someone that gives them money or food lol, maybe they are the problem or part of it.
But in the end he probably needs some change for the parking meter in front of the church that he cant park in front of any way
We know the NRPD isn’t
We know the NRPD isn’t watching him because he’s still out there! How ’bout the cops send in an undercover officer to smoke this guy out? Shouldn’t be that hard, but they (the cops) would have to do some work though.
this guy
i think this guy needs a good crack, and he wont bother anybody else.
Face of Downtown
I saw this guy about 5 times today on main st ifo chase bank just standing around and then walking down north av by anderson st. Why arent the police watching this guy????
Application
Was there a Application for Special Use of Public Parking filed from the church?, if there is none the we cant make them get one, for a fee of course
At least someone is going to church, let’s not stop the good because someone don’t like it, heck it’s Sunday stay home and watch some football if you know you cant find a parking spot.
Application
Back off on the football and take a grammar course!
First off you were off topic
First off you were off topic with the parking and 2nd my grammar sucks deal with it!, I do
PS Thank God for spell check!
AYU obviously unfamiliar with the area
If you spent any significant time downtown and talked to the merchants you would understand their concerns about the panhandlers, the homeless people eating out of garbage cans and the churches blocking off swaths of downtown parking.
If downtown is every going to blossom as a business area these items and others need to be addressed. Instead, they are ignored and the only initiatives are parking ticket quotes, raising parking permit fees and building a “walk of fame”.
Maybe we can compromise and have a “walk of fame” honoring the most famous panhandlers and petty criminals in downtown.
No been here a long long
No been here a long long time bud, I can recall 15+ homeless across from the Library every day. I remember all the bars on north ave and all the problem that came along with them and the parking lots the run down parking lots were the Avalon stand now, or how about the run down building on Huguenot st. Do we have to really worry about the homeless being in front of the dollar stores and the nail salons along with the tattoo place or the store on church street that sell bongs and crack pipes, yes we do have to worry and we do, but your not going to lock-em up there always going to be around
I live here close to all this and unless you replace all the poor even below middle class, This is what you going to have. You can write all you want about how bad New Rochelle is but all in all i think it’s better then 20 years ago. The only problem is you find it hard to deal with mix culture that’s not going to go away
Your problem is you don’t like change so it easy to put it down and bring hate and every one is at fault for this change. You should be helping people get off the streets if it affects you so much in stead of saying OH no a homeless guy it’s the end of the freaking world
Sure there’s the bad, but I see more good, It’s a shame you have eyes for the bad and seek it out. You make it sound like there a killing here every week, well i can tell you there not and your obviously unfamiliar with the area of main st
Says you
You are just a bunch of pixels on a screen. You do not get credit for posting anonymously and then claiming things about yourself. For all we know you are just making everything up so an argument based on your supposed experience is meaningless.
facts all facts, ask any old
facts all facts, ask any old timer that knows. it’s your blog you can make it so you have to sign up with a name, but i guess it easy to discredit some one you don’t know
Is this a site of facts or meaningless comments as many here are anonymously posting?
Robert Cox wrote “claiming
Robert Cox wrote “claiming things about yourself”
They are not things about my self, there things I remember or know about New Rochelle.
Robert Cox wrote “You are just a bunch of pixels on a screen”
No I’m a member of you web site and look at things different then you do, I like to look thing from both sides, while you just want to put every one that irks you in a Cage, but hey every one need a hobby.