Ditto this!!!! I live in center square and the harassment is repetitive, not stopping first time i said “not today.” As a young girl living alone having old drunk men routinely follow behind me to my block yelling for money its so upsetting. Last year eating at LAX with friends we were accosted so forcefully that although we enjoyed our dining experience we never went back and probably wont again, its just not enjoyable. Really stinks for business owners and residents alike.

While on the topic walking near Dunkin Donuts at 6am has me fearing for my life. Last week a man on heroin followed me to my car and jiggled my handle. This is NOT OKAY OR ROUTINE because i chose to live in center square. We cannot let this be normalized, please.

Yes, on Sunday night, near the park I was stopped by a guy and I listened to his story. When he realized I was not going to give him money, he became verbally abusive and said something about my son, who was standing next to me. I'm not often scared by panhandlers, but this guy scared me.

Now that the weather is getting better the panhandlers will be out in force on Lark St. ! You can't leave your house with out being asked for money everyday !

Ditto Ditto. Some people have actually moved from the area because of it and there are a lot of people who say they no longer come to this area from other communities, because it's such a problem. Someone from the Bronx recently commented on how much worse it is on Lark than where he used to live. Anyone know where the neighborhood engagement officers are?Other than seeing one of them in the flower shop regularly, the others haven't seemed to be around.

Neigh, was it this guy? He. Is. Terrifying.

Sorry, not sure. He was similar build and had on a baseball hat that had a cross on it. I am not sure thathe had that much (red?) facial hair. I was told later that he is often on the street, seen walking with a case of beer in each hand.

Thank you for your submission to See Click Fix. I am assigning this issue to your Neighborhood Beat Officers Dan Webster and Joe Lynch. If you would like to personally contact them they can be reached at dwebster@albany-ny.org. and jlynch@albany-ny.org. If this happens again please call police dispatch at 438-4000, and a police unit will be dispatched to investigate the complaint.

this is a citywide epidemic especially on central ave and south pearl st. the city needs to be tougher on crime. when minor stuff like these quality of life issues are not taken seriously more crime occurs and more serious offenses.

That guy in the picture, he’s a repeat offender. Gets aggressive when you deny him money. Tells the same bs story every time.

I have sympathy for people who are down and out, especially when the system fails them as it has so many in Albany. I would think that all would be better served if they were to be told by police to hold a sign or a cup or something as opposed to aggressively approaching people. If someone berates you for not giving money remember that the next time if you want to help to give to someone who is respectful to you/others.

Yes, I've seen this happen and it's happened to me. People have even approached my car asking for money. Isn't this supposed to be illegal?

Should be an undercover police officer patrolling (walking) throughout Albany. While I understand how this is for people getting aggressively approached, unfortunately there are even worse things going on right out in the open that are not being addressed.

I sympathize for anyone who needs to panhandle, but a sign or the old fashioned cup or whatnot is a respectable way to do it. Aggressively walking up to people and then getting angry when they don't give is over that line. I've had some get upset after apologizing that I could not help and telling them I am poor myself. But if some plainclothes police walked the city and actually enforced things, including quality of life you would see such a difference in Albany. Just being seen is not much of a deterrent these days.

Thank you for your submission to SCF. If you are being approached by a panhandler and you feel that it is an aggressive situation please call police dispatch at 518-438-4000, and a Officer will be sent out to investigate the complaint. We will continue to enforce the ordinance where it applies and work with other City agencies to provide assistance to homeless/ panhandler.

by then the person will be gone. this needs to be actively policed. get a plain clothes officer there to see themselves and watch first hand what constitutes aggressive panhandling then they can make an arrest and set an example so the panhandlers might think twice. i was getting food at bombers a guy was ahead of me and turned around to ask for a dollar and gave me a sad story about how hes on hard times but wiped out a 50 to buy food a second later.

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