1. 800. 973.1177
COURT REPORTER
Compassion on Fifth Avenue [By James Kilpatrick] The church views its overnight guests as God’s children, fallen upon hard times. The city sees them as a bunch of bums who hang around all night and frighten the tourists away.
The city of New York wants to protect its
or supervision for the individuals in the
be sleeping or otherwise lawfully occupying”
vagrant citizens in its way — preferably far away. The Presbyterian Church at 55th Street
encampment.
church property. Police of course may arrest
and Fifth Avenue wants to do good in its way,
“A representative of the church also
wardens may evict unwanted guests. In times
that is, part-time, in small numbers. For the
acknowledged sanitation problems on the
of ice and snow, even resident vagrants may
past six years the public-spirited combatants
steps of the church resulting from the lack
be forcibly removed to a safer, warmer, more
have been arguing about protecting the
of toilet facilities. If one of the homeless
distant accommodation.
undesirables. Last month they wound up in
individuals in the outdoor encampment has
the U.S. Supreme Court on the city’s petition
bathroom needs, that person must either
The Circuit Court was not impressed by
to get the matter settled.
find an all-night toilet or use a small bottle
the city’s argument that the church habitat
or can which is then emptied. The church
has become a public nuisance. The city
The story began 20 years ago, when the
representative stated further that if bottles
has provided “no medical evidence that
church began operating an interior shelter
and cans will not suffice, what ‘homeless
the conduct endangers or injures anyone’s
for a handful of homeless men. One thing
people do is they use newspaper and they fold
health.” Indeed, the city provided no medical
led to another, as things so often do, and
it up ... and they go put it in the trash.’”
evidence that the homeless people who spent
lawbreakers on church premises. Church
the night on church property constituted a
in February 1999 the church expanded its modest enterprise: It began to operate
Church wardens cleaned the premises every
health risk to themselves or to the public at
a second sanctuary outside, on a strip of
day, but sporadic complaints continued of
large.”
church-owned property extending into a
littering and panhandling. There was one
public sidewalk. It would be “a kind of creche
report of a woman soliciting as a prostitute.
scene,” said the pastor, “telling the world that
Thousands of fastidious shoppers had come to
the poor and homeless are welcome and not
town. Tensions mounted.
forgotten in the midst of a world that is deeply
To the church, its hospitality is a protected religious activity. To the city, the church’s practice of having homeless people sleep outdoors, exposed to the elements, without
Just before Christmas in 2001, city authorities
toilet facilities and personal security, “cannot
ran out of patience and sought to evict the
constitute religious ministry in any meaningful
In its petition to the high court, the city
sidewalk tenants — in the middle of the
sense.” To describe the nightly encampments
explains that it tried to accommodate the
night. Lawyers for the church went to court.
in terms of “compassion” or “hospitality” is
efforts of the church to expand its ministry
They want to balance God and mammon. The
“simply an abuse of English usage.”
outside. For the better part of two years,
city wants to throw the bums out, but in a
a period of discovery ensued. It revealed
nice way. Finally, four months ago the U.S.
“an ongoing pattern of anti-social behavior
Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit entered
occurring at the overnight encampment on the
a permanent injunction directing the city to
church steps.
leave the mendicants alone. The freeloaders
concerned with prosperity.”
I come down in the middle of this case. The Fifth Avenue church may have a duty to the homeless. The people of New York have a few rights as well.
are still there, and the city still wants them
(Letters to Mr. Kilpatrick should be sent by
“The church acknowledged having had
moved to a much safer, more sanitary,
e-mail to kilpatjj@aol.com.)
problems with individuals in its overnight
obviously healthier and practically invisible
encampment — panhandling, playing loud
location somewhere else.
and using foul language. According to the
In its parting per curiam shot, the circuit
church, such problems occur approximately
court affirmed an injunction against the
once a week. Despite the frequency of these
city. The order will prevent the cops from
incidents, the church provides no security
“dispersing or arresting any person who shall
PAGE
COPYRIGHT 2005 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
music, engaging in disruptive behavior
This feature may not be reproduced or distributed electronically, in print or otherwise without the written permission of uclick and Universal Press Syndicate.