It’s 9:30 on a brisk late-fall evening, and J.B. stands outside Student Choice Market on Marshall Street. His work night is just beginning.

He has no desk, no actual place of employment, no supervisor and no employees. J.B.’s working for himself, hoping to earn a meal and a few extra dollars to pay for a place to stay.

J.B. – or Johnny Blaze as he says many students call him – asked that his real name be omitted to protect his privacy. He is one of several panhandlers who work the Marshall Street area. While many wouldn’t call his night’s work a true job, J.B. disputes that claim.

Not only is it his livelihood for the time being, but panhandling or begging is constitutionally protected as a First Amendment freedom of speech and expression.

In 2003, panhandling and homeless advocates helped curb proposed legislation that would have imposed strict limits on panhandling in Syracuse. Still, some Marshall Street business owners complain the panhandlers’ presence discourages business.

Partially in response, the Crouse/Marshall Business Association has hired a private security officer, Gary Peak. While Peak’s main responsibility will be dealing with parking and traffic issues, he will also ensure panhandlers like J.B. are operating within the law.

‘This is my job,’ J.B. says with no hesitation. ‘Until I find something else, this is my job. I’m not harassing anybody. I’m not robbing anybody. I’m following the law and I’m always respectful. I feel like I have to work for it.’

J.B. said he’s come to the Marshall Street area for about 10 years. Students are typically generous, he said, and he likes the tranquility the area offers. On a good night (he says Thursday, Friday and Saturday are typically most profitable), J.B. can make about $25. Typically, though, he just hopes for enough to buy a meal and a drink.

Due to years of panhandling, he’s learned to avoid harassing people, J.B. said. As long as panhandlers don’t harass people or block their passage on a sidewalk, they are within the law, said Lt. Joe Cecile of the Syracuse Police Department.

Panhandling is also protected by court rulings, said Sam Young, a Syracuse-area lawyer who has fought and won two cases in favor of panhandlers. Young now works for the Syracuse law firm Costello, Cooney and Fearon and is a cooperating attorney with the Central New York chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The Supreme Court has never specifically ruled on panhandling; it has indicated in other rulings that begging is a protected form of expression, Young said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, whose opinions are binding for New York, Vermont and Connecticut, ruled in Loper v. City of New York that panhandling is expressive conduct that can’t be regulated.

‘You can regulate in terms of time, place and manner,’ Young said. ‘You can say you can’t do it in certain areas or you can’t be aggressive.’

One of the cases Young won in favor of a panhandler occurred in Syracuse in 1997. Young’s client was charged with disorderly conduct for begging, despite the prior circuit court precedent. Young’s client won the case and the city and court agreed to stop enforcing the legislation.

Despite this, Syracuse’s Common Council, with the backing of Mayor Matt Driscoll, went ahead with 2003 legislation to put significant limits on panhandling. The law, which would have penalized violators with a $250 fine and/or 15 days in jail, contained provisions that would make panhandling illegal between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. and prevented persistent solicitation after a person said no.

A coalition spearheaded by Executive Director of the Central New York Chapter of the ACLU Barrie Gewanter, homeless advocate Kathleen Rumpf and Young rallied against the proposal because it violated free speech. Rumpf, who has been arrested more than 100 times for protesting in favor of the homeless, and Young wrote several editorials in The Post-Standard and sent letters to Driscoll.

The vote was scheduled to take place on Sept. 22, 2003, but with only three definite yes votes and a possible constitutional battle, Driscoll pulled the bill.

‘There are certain types of free speech that are difficult to experience,’ Gewanter said. ‘They teach us valuable lessons. It’s often uncomfortable for people, but this type of speech teaches important lessons about the status of the economy.’

J.B.’s story seemed to back up Gewanter’s assertion. Now 38, he was a standout basketball player at Fowler and Henninger High Schools in Syracuse. He never graduated, but earned a GED.

Since then, he’s been in and out of jobs, including working at Marshall Square Mall and in the Syracuse University dining halls.

J.B. said he’s been arrested about eight times, each time for a minor violation involving panhandling. He said the last time he was arrested was about a year ago, and now he advises other panhandlers on how to stay out of trouble.

He only comes out at night because he said the police check for panhandlers more during the day. He said he knows when someone means no, and stops asking.

‘I don’t want anyone telling me what to do,’ J.B. said about the possibility of jail. ‘Not unless they’re paying me for it.’

He said he’s been homeless about a year and often pays friends $5 or $10 a night in rent for a warm place to sleep. Other nights he stays at The Oxford Inn, an area shelter known as The Ox. And on nights when his wife allows, he stays at her apartment. But on the worst of nights, he sometimes sleeps on the street, and has even on occasion checked himself into the hospital for a warm bed.

Joe, another area panhandler who asked that his last name remain anonymous because some area family members don’t know about his panhandling, ran into similar circumstances as J.B. He’s been working the Marshall Street area for about six months and, like J.B., was attracted by generous students.

Joe lives in the YMCA and also struggles to find another job. He said he’s gone into each Marshall Street business dressed as a typical student, fills out an application and yet he never receives any interest.

‘I’d walk in wearing a button-down shirt, but they still recognize me,’ Joe said.

While Marshall Street business owners may not be quick to hire a panhandler, most seem to tolerate their presence as long as the panhandlers stay out of the stores. Most of the store owners hope the new security officer will eventually help chase the panhandlers from the area, said Jerry Dellas, the Crouse/Marshall business association president.

While some customers are scared off by the panhandlers, most students seem to sympathize with them, said Bill Nester, owner of Manny’s.

‘I’ve seen some of the same panhandlers here for 10 years,’ Nester said. ‘If they make a good buck, they’re going to keep doing it. It doesn’t encourage them to find a better way of life, but as human beings we all feel for each other.’

‘They don’t bother anyone,’ said Daniel Press, a junior public relations major. ‘You get to know them. I give money to them all the time.’

Homeless advocates like Rumpf and Young hope the new Marshall Street security officer respects the rights of the panhandlers. The security officer has no right to make an arrest. If he sees a panhandler violating the law, he can only call the police or make a citizen’s arrest like any other citizen, Cecile said.

A Syracuse police officer is already assigned to patrol Marshall Street a few times a day, making sure the panhandlers operate within the law, Cecile added.

‘The bottom line is we shouldn’t criminalize a form of free speech,’ Rumpf said.

J.B. said efforts have been made in the past to quietly remove panhandlers from Marshall Street. As long as the generosity continues, he’ll stay, J.B. said.

J.B. said he knows while the police may target the panhandlers, he’s within his First Amendment rights as long as he follows the law.

Standing outside Student Choice Market, J.B. sees an apparently familiar face.

‘What’s up J.B.?’ the student asks.

‘How we doin’ tonight?’ J.B. replies. ‘You know you’re gonna help your man out later.’

A few minutes later, the student emerges from the store and drops a dollar and some change in J.B.’s hand.

‘People look out for me,’ he says with a smile. ‘I’m not going to go stealing or robbing or anything like that. If they didn’t like me, they wouldn’t give me money. You try to give the people something pleasant. You know everyone can’t give you something. But a little bit means a lot.’

Published on November 29, 2005 at 12:00 pm