Homeless say booming cities have outlawed their right to sleep, beg and even sit

(June 2) – David Cross had been such a fixture at Five Points Park, a patch of green in the prospering heart of this city, that residents dubbed the homeless man “the mayor.” But that was before the city removed the park bench where he held court. Before a new panhandling ordinance made it illegal to ask for money in most places. Before he was given a written infraction for sleeping outside.