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Slum, blight, crime, Sober Homes and the belief that development will rid us of our problems are issues that we face on a daily basis in Lake Worth. While elected officials seem only interested in spending millions to attract developers as evidenced by what they have approved to spend at the Park of Commerce (this year alone is $11 million), and money that will take 100-200 years to recapture in ad-valorem taxes, the city falls further into a hole of urban decay.
Ever since John Szerdi got defeated in his re-election bid for Commissioner District 4, this trio commission of Maxwell, Triolo and Amoroso have been perplexed and in somewhat of a funk. They ask themselves, "Could the impossible happen again?" The answer is "yes."
In spite of their well-heeled political connections and special developer interests, their record is not a rosy bunch of accomplishments. All you have to do is drive around our city to see exactly what I mean. Hell, even at the entry of city hall there are steps that are never swept or pressure cleaned that are contributing to the blight. They took out the bushes there as they were never maintained. The homeless park themselves on the several benches directly in front of the "people's temple" as city manager Bornstein would say. Many are being dumped in Lake Worth and the homeless population here is growing leaps and bounds.
"Most of Lake Worth’s homeless population can be found in Bryant Park,
the Cultural Plaza, Dixie Highway and anywhere that there’s an
overgrown property where they can hide. There are some who camp at City
Hall at night. We know many of them by first name," Bornstein said in a Palm Beach Post December 5 article. "They’re part of the fabric of our community.”
We just can't keep playing the blame game--it's out of control. I would say that most of the homeless want a roof over their head...a home. Perhaps strengthening rent regulation laws would preserve affordable
housing and protect tenants which would allow the homeless and other struggling Lake Worthians to have a place to live and then they could get a job.
New York has rent controls and rent stabilization programs. We need a standard of reasonableness as rental rates are exorbitant in this poor city.
Read Michael Moore's Letter to the Editor in the Palm Beach Post. Michael is a Lake Worth resident who advocates for those in need. The Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County is offering a lot of free services (see graphic below)to the homeless such as haircuts, clothing, food and health screening on January 22..
