Homeless and their advocates worry GOP convention will push them out
SAM DOLNICK, Associated Press Writer
Sunday, August 8, 2004
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(08-08) 09:29 PDT NEW YORK (AP) --
J.W. Ballantine, a 77-year-old homeless man, already sleeps most nights in Penn Station and eats many of his meals in neighborhood soup kitchens.
But Ballantine's life is about to get much harder now that the Republican National Convention is coming to Madison Square Garden, directly on top of the train station where he usually sleeps. Ballantine, and hundreds of other homeless people like him, will be moved out from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 so the convention can take place.
"They think homeless people are eyesores," Ballantine said. "They want to hide them so tourists don't see them."
Security is already high in New York City, and homeless people worry that even tougher convention security will force them to the city's fringes -- far from the outreach workers trying to help them.
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