addressing their conerns, reports Keith Caesar Court Street shop owners believe that the Corporation of Hamilton and Government should stop talking about the problems "the back of town'' faces and start doing something about them.

"Come see what I see everyday,'' was the invitation from Tuff Shoes/Mega Power co-owner Craig Clark.

Court Street, for many locals, is one of the City's roads less travelled. And over the years it has developed a reputation from the ever-present drug trade in its vicinity, which has resulted in many Court Street shop owners losing out on valuable tourist dollars.

But Mr. Clark, said he felt some real work, not idle talk, should go into improving Court Street, making it more attractive and accessible to locals and tourist alike.

He called on authorities to give it the same attention that the other areas in Hamilton receive.

"People do whatever they want,'' Mr. Clark said. "Court Street is an abyss.'' When it came to the drug problem, he continued, professionals who dealt with drugs should be in the area to help the people affected by it.

"We need to deal with people on the street, change the mentality of these people, especially when people walk around doing what they like,'' he said.

He added: "Court Street could be like most places on the Island.

"Not all the people who come around Court Street are bad. They just need guidance.'' One proposed plan by Police is to put Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in the area.

But Mr. Clark said: "They talk about putting up this CCTV, but then what is that going to do if (Police) are not doing anything about the situation now? "How can you put cameras up if you're not around here in the first place? "People know what's happening, but they turn a blind eye. We know it's happening and remain blind.'' Mr. Clark said he recognised that Court Street was a stigma in the eyes of many and people tended to avoid the area, encouraging it to be labelled as a problem area.

He said: "People don't see people who put in a good hard day's work -- that they have families to take care of.'' Beside drugs, there were also issues of begging and homelessness.

Mr. Clark noted many homeless people came to Court Street and constantly begged for money, sometimes going as far as to harass patrons leaving various stores.

While he recognised that Court Street was not the only area to have a problem with begging, he stressed it needed to be addressed.

Another store owner, who did not want to be identified, said there was a noticeable lack of Police presence in the area.

"Cops don't patrol, they don't do anything,'' she said.

"They fly by when they are rushing to something.'' She added: "If you put this in the paper, they will start patrolling for two days, then stop.'' And she asked why shopkeepers on Court Street should have to pay anything to the Corporation of Hamilton when it did not pay the same attention to them as it did to other areas of the city.

"The only ones dependable are the trash collectors,'' she said.

Mr. Clark, who said he supported the Progressive Labour Party, said Government had not done anything to clear up its own backyard.

Alaska Hall, which is the party's headquarters, is located at the northern end of Court Street.

Court Street merchants want a little respect Meanwhile, businesses in the area said they were experiencing sluggish sales.

Unlike Front Street, the summer, with the exception of the Cup Match holdiday, is the off-season for Court Street merchants, who usually see sales pick up around holidays. Mr. Clark noted that when it came to tourists, Court Street sees very few.

"We get some,'' Mr. Clark said. "But we don't get part of that economic pie.'' The owner of Carvel Jewellers, another Court Street business said that her store, like others was going through slow times. But she agreed with Mr. Clark it was time for Court Street to start seeing a bigger share of that "economic pie''.

She admitted: "There is nothing wrong with Court Street. More tourists can come this way. We need to do something. We need the encouragement from the MPs to get the spark going.'' Despite the problems, the overwhelming consensus of everyone talked to was that they would not leave Court Street for another location.

Mr. Clark summed it up: "We would like the respect that other streets get.''