Jason Pierce had had enough.

The owner of the Savoy Taproom on Lark Street said he watched over the past few months as a homeless man with addiction problems became more aggressive toward customers and nearby residents.

In June, the man struck another man in the head with a bottle. He was booked, processed and released. Later that evening, the man was back, yelling and spitting in Pierce's face. Pierce called police and the man was arrested for aggravated harassment.

Roughly two weeks later, it got worse. The man was outside the bar and restaurant with a sharp stick, threatening customers. An hour later he returned and Pierce called police. Pierce said the man came back a second and third time that night. Each time police were called but according to Pierce, there was nothing they could do to hold the man.

"Sooner or later this individual will hurt himself or someone else," Pierce wrote in a public Facebook post describing the incident.

The cycle of harassment, arrests and reappearances that Pierce chronicled is one that he says has played out in front of businesses across the city. It also raises questions about what's the best response when a disturbed person disrupts a business and the role local businesses play in helping the city deal with homelessness.

Pierce said he wants to be part of a solution and has invited local homeless advocates and city officials to the Savoy for an open forum on Tuesday to talk about possible changes. Albany police will be there as well to talk about issues around homelessness, panhandling and mental health.

"This is not just a Lark Street issue," Pierce said in an interview last week.

The problem Pierce and other Lark Street business owners are presenting is a complex one, said advocates for homeless residents in the city. They can't force people to get help and some homeless residents' problems are compounded by mental illness or drug addiction.

That "trifecta of misery" can make it difficult for them to stay in shelters and can lead to conflicts, said Liz Hitt, executive director of the Homeless and Travelers Aid Society.

"That can be very frustrating for the public and for businesses in particular," she said.

Hitt and advocates said the vast majority of those who suffer from homelessness or mental illness in the city aren't violent. Hitt said there is a core group that is difficult to serve because of severe addiction or mental illness but that group is small.

"They're very well known to us," she said.

More Information Albany business forum on homelessness Savoy Taproom, 301 Lark Street, will host a forum with Albany city officials and advocates to discuss homelessness and how it impacts their business and the community at 7 p.m. Tuesday. See More Collapse

And advocates say Albany is particularly lucky because of the wide array of service providers trying to help homeless residents get safe housing or counseling.

Pierce said he and others have dealt with problematic homeless residents for years and have grown frustrated because even when police make an arrest, the person is back outside, sometimes just hours later.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan said she understood that frustration and that the city would look to see if there were gaps in services that it could fill.

"We want to be responsive," she said. "We want to listen to concerns voiced by businesses and city residents."

Conflicts between homeless residents and businesses aren't unique to Albany. Police departments in other Capital Region cities say they are routinely called to handle disputes between homeless people and businesses.

Schenectady has an ambassador program run by the City Mission that is meant in part to help reduce those conflicts. The ambassadors are former homeless residents or addicts in recovery and as part of their job they help guide people downtown.

"It's an additional set of eyes and ears, which is helpful for us," said Schenectady police spokesman Sgt. Matt Dearing.

Dearing said when officers deal with a homeless resident causing a problem they typically try and guide them to the services they need. Those officers often know the right person to contact to help the person, especially at night and on weekends.

Kristen Giroux, deputy director of the Interfaith Partnership House in Albany, said they have a similar ambassador program that works with downtown theaters. She hopes to expand it to include Albany's business districts.

Beyond that, Interfaith and other providers routinely meet to talk about how they can better serve the city's homeless population and are always looking for community partners, she said.

"Anyone who has a vested interest in addressing the needs of the homeless population, we want at the table," she said.

Pierce emphasized that the Tuesday meeting is not intended to simply be a chance for local businesses to complain to the city about homeless residents.

"They're human beings too and they're dealing with problems in their lives," he said.

That perspective is the right one to take, said Tina Yun Lee, the community education and outreach manager for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

When people come across someone exhibiting signs of mental illness, they often don't know what to do, she said.

"No one wants to be homeless," she said. "We are seeing the consequences of not addressing mental health," she said.