NYC Subway Has A (Huge) Homeless Problem

It’s been just over a month since Mayor Eric Adams was sworn in for his first term, yet he and the NYC Subway system already have a huge problem on their hands: THE HOMELESS!

Current Events
With more than 7 million residents spread across 5 boroughs in what is hands down the largest city in the nation, it should come as no surprise that a large portion of those New York City residents are homeless and living on the streets. During the height of the nearly 2 year COVID crisis, former mayor Bill DeBlasio created a program to put the homeless up free of charge inside vacant hotels in order to keep them off the streets and prevent further spread of the coronavirus. However, that program expired last year, which evicted the homeless and sent them flooding right back onto the streets.

Now, with New York City in the middle of winter, the homeless have found warmth and safe haven in the NYC subway system — and herein lies the problem.

For anyone who either lives in or has recently visited New York City, they’ve likely stumbled upon subway cars loaded with homeless people spread out and sleeping across multiple seats with their “belongings” taking up the other seats and spaces. Recently, in separate incidents, mentally incapacitated homeless people were responsible for pushing innocent bystanders onto the tracks and committing murder just as a train was approaching. A female subway rider was slashed across the face with a knife just as a homeless person was exiting a train. Another passenger was sucker-punched in the face and stabbed by a homeless man while waiting on the platform. The crime and complaints have grown out of hand.

Now, the newly elected Mayor Adams (who is a former NYPD police captain) has come up with a plan to eliminate the homeless problem from the NYC subway system and put an end to the senseless crime wave. On Monday, Adams began flooding the subway with hundreds of cops who were sent to patrol platforms and trains for safety. According to Adams, his plan was designed to address “decades of failure” that have led to many people living and sleeping in the city’s subway system.

As part of the new plan, any homeless person sleeping across multiple subway seats will be kicked off the train to make room for “paying passengers.” At the end of subway lines, any remaining passengers will be required to depart the train. Additionally, mental health care workers will join police on their patrols to help those homeless persons who might be mentally ill.

“No more just doing whatever you want. No. Those days are over. Swipe your MetroCard, ride the system, get off at your destination. That’s what this administration is saying.”

NYC Mayor Eric Adams

For some, Mayor Adams created a great idea to eradicate the homeless and related crime from the NY subway system. The only problem — if the homeless are kicked off the trains and subway platforms in the middle of winter, then where will they go?

As expected, homelessness and mental health advocates have raised concerns that the plan’s reliance on law enforcement will lead to “criminalizing” people experiencing homelessness and leave them with no where to go but jail.

“Enforcement of these rules should not be counterproductive by criminalizing people who are in need of housing or treatment,” said Adrienne Adams, speaker of the New York City Council. “Cycling people through a destabilizing revolving door of the criminal justice system to end up in a worse condition back on the subways and our streets would only make us less safe,” she added.

With Broadway theaters reopened and tourists flocking back to the city, Mayor Adams is understandably concerned that visitors could be attacked on the subways or pushed in front of an oncoming train — which could set back NYC’s return as a global vacation spot following the COVID crisis. However, taking the homeless off the trains and merely placing them on the streets (where tourists are walking and taking photos of the city) is not necessarily a viable solution either.

Instead of moving the homeless from Point A to Point B, perhaps it’s time to use city, state, and federal funding to end homelessness once and for all.

OK WASSUP! covers Current Events:
The NYC subway system has a homeless problem.