Rather than just help them (which is cheaper btw) they take services away from everyone in an attempt to make their area shitty enough they'll go somewhere else...
Completely ignoring that they're making it shitty for the people they want to keep too, which makes people want to leave and depressed selling prices, which can easily lead to a panic and flight from an area destroying the community.
Even from a purely selfish capitalistic perspective, it's best to just have a fucking safety net. Beyond all the ethical reasons we should, there's not a single logical reason not to fucking help people.
I'm visiting Naples at the moment with my Italian boyfriend, and I remarked to him that Naples has a lot of places that people can just hang out without spending money, something that the UK has lost. Part of this is due to the climate, but also corporatism hasn't hit Italy as hard as other western countries. It really is a shame.
You know how in the south, they closed public pools instead of desegregating because they would rather have no pools than let black people swim?
That impulse didn't go away. And it wasn't limited to the south and their hatred of black people.
Reminds me of that story about a sports field that got weird „opening hours“ because some old fuck nearby didn’t like the children being noisy near his house. After some months it got turned into a parking lot because „no one was using the sports field“.
Bro, I hate children too. But you have to draw the line at lung cancer.
Hopefully it's because they're putting in new benches made from the bones of real estate tycoons ❤️💖
They got rid of them at the bus stop near me. There used to be an indoor space for people to wait in, but they closed that down. And this is in Alaska. Having to wait a half an hour for the bus to arrive after taken a shower is a shitty way to wake up.
Guys. I am pretty sure that is Moynihan train station next to Penn Station. People sitting on the floor are literally leaning against the stairs down to the track. Thats is where people lineup to go on the train when it arrives at the station. Of course you don't put benches there. In this station there is a seating area where all you need to do is show your train ticket. On the other side there's a food hall with lots of public seating. There just isn't seating directly where all the foot traffic is. I take trains in the North East corridor on Amtrak somewhat often. There's seats there. Just not where seating would obstruct movement on and off the train platforms.
It's as if they don't want you to be able to get out of your house and socialise except for some paid time at private properties (cafes, restaurants etc). And no this isn't just a US problem, it's a Europe problem as well.
Just imagine if we used the many resources for removing these or creating benches that can't be laid on and instead focused them on fixing. the. housing. crisis. or any other multitude of problems that get kicked down the road so everyone suffers more together.
I've had bad feet since teen years, and I'm in my 40s now, which means sitting down once in a while is no longer just a suggestion. One of my big whinges (practicing whinging in case I ever get old) is that there's just not damn enough public benches. And I live in a city that has public benches and has brought them back. A little bit.
It's an USA problem. Still sad of course.
That picture is a great example. Moynihan train hall is the absolute worst
The park in my parent's neighborhood got rid of all the benches
This might not be some nefarious government plan, though.
Just this past weekend, I came across a fairly popular bench on a local bike path that was completely destroyed by someone who had to break it in half.
A few weeks back, another bench was burned up.
And at another local resting area, their (plastic?) picnic table was also defaced and unusable.
A park I grew up near was completely torched one day (all wooden structures), and it took years for metal equipment to go up in its place.
People who vandalize and misuse these fixtures are the reason why they end up being removed 99% of the time. And it's unfair to everyone else.
Hell, we've had entire sheltered bus stops have their glass destroyed, and they just take the whole thing down and don't replace it. As a taxpayer, I can understand not wanting to flip the bill for another thing for someone to destroy, but it still frustrates me that people can't behave.
Out door trash receptacles as well.
Governments? Well, if you assume governments are controlled by wealthy people who don’t want to pay taxes and dislike the poors hanging around, sure.
All those public items cost tax money to maintain, and taxes are evil. Also, you can’t have the poors and rabble lazing about. They need to be making more money for the rich. So no benches or other leisure spaces for you.
Make the rich richer and don’t make them pay for it.
A picture of Moynihan Train Hall there's other places to sit (almost entirely restaurants) out of shot, and this floor is usually full of crowds moving on/off trains from what I've seen. Maybe a snow delay caused this?
It's like taking certain types of painkillers that gets rid of the pain - you don't feel it anymore, but it is still there hidden from you. The thing causing it is still there as well. We need the anti-inflammatory equivalent of dealing with homelessness.
there are places where sitting on the floor is forbidden, like big train stations in germany. I think its only houserules, but security can kick you out anyway.
As far as restrooms specifically, we need to solve a few other issues to make that one work. Drug abuse, antisocial behavior, and mental issues. If we have public restrooms but someone has smashed the fixtures, smeared shit on the walls or is passed out in there from an opiate overdose, it’s not actually better than not having a restroom.
