NORTHAMPTON — Business and property owners asked city councilors to curb panhandling during the fourth and final forum held Monday by the council’s Committee on Community Resources.
Richard Madowitz, co-owner of Cedar Chest and Hampshire Property Management Group, urged councilors to act on the city’s “most inhospitable streetscape” in the state.
“It really has a devastating effect for what I do on the leasing end,” he said, adding that the city sooner will ask him to take down revenue-generating signs than help him address people camping out on his rooftop. “That’s the kind of regulatory feel that feels anti-business.”
Joseph Blumenthal, owner of Downtown Sounds, echoed Madowitz’s comments, referring to panhandling as a “perennial problem.”
“This has been a problem for the entire time,” referring to the 40 years that he has done business downtown. “We lose a substantial amount of business because people are out asking for 50 cents or a dollar.”
Peter Whalen, owner of Whalen Insurance Agency, said it is not an easy topic to broach, but it should be addressed.
“The whole conversation is kind of icky,” Whalen said, adding that he knows many people who do not like to walk the downtown gauntlet. “It’s uncomfortable and awkward.”
Councilors asked those in the room for any creative ideas that could ease the issue, at which point several spoke to the possibility of coming together as a community to employ the city’s panhandlers, inspire and help them to get off the streets.
Testimony on the issue — along with all other topics discussed during the series — will be compiled by committee members between now and the next meeting on Sept. 19, at which point they will analyze and discuss possible recommendations to bring to the full council.
Patrick M. Goggins, owner of Goggins Real Estate, came to Monday’s forum to reassure councilors that there are now tenants for the nine downtown properties he was working to lease since last fall. And despite recent anecdotes about the flagging downtown economy, he said that bodes well for downtown.
“We’ve got some things going on in downtown that leave an impression that we have to be prepared to counter,” Goggins said.
Dorothy Nemetz, of the Northampton Community Arts Trust board of directors, questioned the city’s commitment to its volunteer efforts to bring affordable arts space to Northampton, and invited councilors to come check out the space and show support.
Suzanne Beck, executive director for the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce and director of the Hampshire County Regional Tourism Council, spoke about the city’s dependence on tourism. She said the under construction MGM Springfield casino’s potential impact on downtown tourism remains a “looming question,” but still the biggest challenge remains letting potential visitors “know that we exist.”
Thankfully, though, the area boasts breweries, she added.
“It’s good we have a lot of them because they are quite popular,” Beck told councilors.
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.