r******9
发帖数: 234 | 1 With limited Boston homeless shelter beds this winter, could taking private
property be a solution?
“Lives certainly take precedence over private property interests,
especially when private property owners will be compensated."
Boston officials will to add 200 more homeless beds across the city to
handle this year’s wintertime demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
Fueling the need is an unprecedented number of people currently living on
the streets, as well as the space limitations brought on by the need for
physical distancing at shelters amid the health crisis, according to Boston
25 News.
Lyndia Downie, president and executive director of the Pine Street Inn in
the South End, told the news station the shelter would typically rearrange
its lobby and dining room to make sure there were enough beds in the colder
months.
But this winter, the shelter will likely have to turn people away. The
facility is currently several hundred beds short — even including its lease
with a former Best Western hotel on Massachusetts Avenue — and has a
waiting list, Downie said.
When space is available, the inn is working to make sure those most
vulnerable to the virus are able to secure a bed, she said.
“We’re facing a really, really tough winter,” she said. “There’s no
playbook for this. Every day is a new set of challenges.”
Last month, city officials announced efforts to bulk-up bed capacity at
locations downtown and in Brighton and Mission Hill, The Boston Herald
reported. Extra beds are added every year between November and mid-April,
although this year, with the ongoing pandemic and related financial crisis,
has presented its own challenges.
A federal eviction moratorium is in effect through the end of the year, but
the state’s moratorium expired in October. And virus transmission worries
may deter those in need from seeking shelter.
“Even if we have the space, some people may not want to come into shelters
because they’re worried about COVID, especially in the larger congregate
settings,” Downie told Boston 25 News.
Could the city commandeer vacant private properties to help supplement
supply?
Leo Beletsky, a law and health sciences professor at Northeastern University
, presented the controversial move to city officials during a virtual
hearing last week, according to the news station.
“When you commandeer a property, there is no preliminary process. The
government just comes in and takes over private property,” Beletsky told
the outlet.
“There’s a long tradition of doing that in the United States,” he added.
“This is not some radical idea.”
While Beletsky’s proposal was met with swift opposition, he said the
practice could quickly remedy a solution to the pressing problem.
“Lives certainly take precedence over private property interests,
especially when private property owners will be compensated,” Beletsky said
. “This could also apply to all the hotels that are sitting empty.”
A city spokesperson did not comment specifically on the idea, but told the
news station Boston “is always working with private owners” to provide
shelter to the homeless.
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and … we need to be
thinking much more boldly,” Beletsky said. | i******0
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发帖数: 2263 | 3 盼望着盼望着，春天来了……
private
Boston
【在 r******9 的大作中提到】
: With limited Boston homeless shelter beds this winter, could taking private
: property be a solution?
: “Lives certainly take precedence over private property interests,
: especially when private property owners will be compensated."
: Boston officials will to add 200 more homeless beds across the city to
: handle this year’s wintertime demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
: Fueling the need is an unprecedented number of people currently living on
: the streets, as well as the space limitations brought on by the need for
: physical distancing at shelters amid the health crisis, according to Boston
: 25 News.
| l****b
发帖数: 400 | 4 番鼠，天马，金人，死九人，每人可以家里接是个，如果它们有家的话 |
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