The following are letters that have appeared recently in the City Link newspaper in response to the series of articles that have appeared regarding the appalling living conditions in Tent City.
I am tired of your bleeding heart reporting on the homeless as it pertains to Fort Lauderdale's problem ["Street fighting man," Aug 19] Tent City: Safe Zone? Neither the city nor society creates homelessness. It is the culmination of a bad series of decisions and events in a person's life. Homeless families with children should be given all the help and priority necessary to get them back on their feet and housed. This, only for the children's sake.
Society provides people with an education early in life. Once it's over, the bill is yours. If you opt to piss that away, tough. Most of the homeless are lowlifes. That's right, lowlifes who have given up their right to self-determination. Migrant workers and immigrant Haitians live pretty bad, too. But they work and buddy up if necessary to put a roof over their heads.
Spending our money to institutionalize the homeless and the mentally ill may be expensive and against their constitutional right to live like shit, but they would be clean and fed. They're useless without constant needs anyway. Mandatory detox is a small price to pay for society's help after you've screwed up your life.
Brad Cohen
Boynton Beach
I just wanted to commend City Link for writing the article "Street fighting man." I think it's a good thing you're doing - to spotlight some of the real social problems in our country and certainly in our city, such as homelessness and drugs. Keep up the good work.
Robert Andrews
Fort Lauderdale
For every action there is a reaction. The homeless problem ["With one eye open", Feb 11] Tent City:An Overview is a direct result of the do-gooders and politicians who endorse the over-restrictive zoning and building codes.
We have always had hobos and winos in our midst. They used to congregate on skid row with its cheap hotels, bars and cafes. The busybodies and developers, with their eyes on prime city center projects which demolished millions of low-rent housing units.
The zoning and building restrictions will not allow the erection of low-cost housing. Renovation of existing structures into low-rent housing is also prohibited. The rules of the suburbs are so strict and costly to meet that low-income people are unable to move in. The affluent live in their sterile suburbs while the older cities have to bear the brunt of welfare expenses.
Scrap the restrictions and let the free market and native ingenuity provide housing for all.
Michael E. Gilley
Hollywood
I cannot thank you enough for the wonderful pictorial story you did on our organization, Love Thy Neighbor "Don't feed the homeless",Jan 21, and our problems with a patently discriminatory city which panders to the real estate and tourist industries.
The in-depth Jane Musgrave story could not have been more beautifully written, and the photography by Michael Laughlin was dramatically descriptive. Their teamwork produced an exceptional study which exceeded all of our expectations. We are most grateful.
As a serendipitous footnote, the front page story in yesterday's Sun-Sentinel Arnold Abbott:Sun-Sentinel, and a story which I am told appeared in USA Today, are all byproducts of your original coverage.
Arnold Abbott
Fort Lauderdale
In your series of articles on the homeless in Fort Lauderdale, a representative of the city stated that a certain action taken was in response to a complaint from the FAA regarding the buffer zone for the helipad.
The item which appeared in your paper read as follows: "For years, the city has allowed groups [that feed the poor] to park in a small fenced-in area immediately north of the camp. Recently, however, the Federal Aviation Administration, which controls the lot, reminded city officials that the area is a buffer zone to a helipad, not a parking lot."
I wanted you to know that I am requesting from the FAA, under the Freedom of Information Act, all records of verbal and written communication that will confirm that this exchange took place between the city and the FAA.
Ken Brevett
Davie