The Sofia Transport Agency (MTA) reported that nearly 350 homeless people live in almost 90 metro stations – despite new York Mayor Eric Adams has promised New Yorkers to remove them as part of his new subway safety plan.
Hundreds of homeless people were found camping in New York’s subway tunnels and subway stations earlier this month, MTA officials said Thursday. Transit workers and outreach workers found almost 30 homeless camps in the tunnels and another 89 camps at the stations.
The camp could be described as “lying in a sleeping bag or stretching,” officials said. All camps were removed among the finds.
“We never leave the camp in place. “As soon as we identify a camp, these people are removed immediately,” said MTA spokesman Tim Minton. New York Post.
The MTA Task Force, which was formed in December, surveyed 472 stations more than 650 miles in 12 hours between February 2 and 3, finding 350 people living there – not an unusual sight for New Yorkers. as the weather gets colder.
New York Mayor Eric Adams, 61, said Friday: “We are dismantling and will dismantle every camp in our system. [It’s] unacceptable.
“Previous administrations may have watched this and passed by. We don’t do that. I am sending the right message that our metro system must be safe and reliable for our riders.
A homeless man without a shirt changes clothes while sitting on train E at the World Trade Center stop – the end of the line – while an MTA employee cleans the car. The Sofia Transport Agency (MTA) reported that nearly 350 homeless people live in almost 90 metro stations and in 29 tunnels.
New Yorkers sit in the middle of an unknown subway car while a homeless man carries his belongings on the train. “We never leave the camp in place. “As soon as we identify a camp, these people are removed immediately,” MTA spokesman Tim Minton told the New York Post.
New York Mayor Eric Adams, 61, implemented a new subway safety plan earlier this month that includes hiring outreach workers (pictured in orange) to offer resources to the homeless and removing them from the subway system.
Adams also said New Yorkers were still “balancing terrorism” in the subways. He said: “As a former transit cop, I understand number one how dangerous these tunnels are, but we must also be aware that we are balancing terrorism in our city.
“We are still a target and when you have those who use tunnel systems without any form of interaction with law enforcement, you can have someone who not only deals with the dangers of being homeless on the rails, but also have the potential person trying to do something harmful.
Outreach workers reported the New York City police camps, which immediately removed them from the subway system, said MTA Chief Security Officer Pat Warren. New York Daily News. The MTA working group will also conduct “regularly planned” surveys of homeless camps and share its findings with police.
Removing and tracing the homeless in the city’s subway is part of Adams’ new subway security plan, which includes an attack on tax evasion, removing the homeless from subway systems at night and boosting public safety at stations and trains.
Adams, a former transit policeman who took office last month and recently considered the subway dangerous, said last week that allowing people to live on the subway was “cruel and inhumane” to them and unfair to other riders and transit workers.
A homeless woman prepares her car with belongings and prepares a place to sleep on the Bedford Avenue platform in Brooklyn. The MTA’s Task Force Task Force – formed in December – surveyed 472 stations more than 650 miles in 12 hours between February 2nd and 3rd, finding 350 people living there and removing them.
Part of Adams’ plan was to eliminate the homeless living on the trains and provide them with resources, but the city was unable to provide details on how many of the 350 people who withdrew where they met with outreach workers
A woman sits quietly next to her belongings at Manhattan’s 42nd Street Times Station while other riders walk around the station
“You’re not doing what you want anymore,” Adams told a news conference at a subway station in Lower Manhattan. “Those days are over.” Drag your MetroCard, control the system, get down to your destination. That’s what this administration says.
“People are telling me about their fear of using the system,” Adams said last week. “And we will ensure that fear is not the reality in New York.”
LTA Daglian, a member of the MTA Standing Advisory Committee, told the New York Post: “It’s scary to know that people live in tunnels, but it’s nothing new. We were lucky that the people who were camping in the tunnels were not there to harm the system, but one day our luck will run out.
“People are telling me about their fear of using the system,” Adams said last week. Earlier this year, the mayor himself described the subway as dangerous. “You’re not doing what you want anymore,” Adams told a news conference at a subway station in Lower Manhattan. “Those days are over.” Drag your MetroCard, control the system, get down to your destination. That’s what this administration says. ”
“No one should live in the subway system, whether in a subway car, whether in a subway station or in a subway tunnel. This is not a home. There must be enough housing for people to live. ”
Adams’ plan, which he considers essential for the recovery of New York from the COVID-19 pandemic, also includes changes that should link more homeless people, many of whom have mental illness, substance abuse problems or both, to services. for mental health and permanent housing.
In tandem with the growing massive crime in the Big Apple – total crime has risen by almost 50 percent – transit crime has risen by 60 percent as many New Yorkers began to fear the subway system.
Representatives of Adam’s office and the city’s social services department were unable to determine how many people recovered from the tunnels and stations were greeted by outreach workers and offered resources, the New York Daily News reported.
On February 22, the second day of the Adams program, homeless people were still seen on the Flatbush Junction subway (pictured) and other stations.
A man sleeps soundly while lying in the middle of his workout, using his backpack as a pillow on the train 1
The MTA described the “camps” as “sleeping in a sleeping bag or stretching,” as one might be seen doing at Fulton Street Station in Manhattan earlier this week.
Many homeless people find refuge in metro stations and trains when the winter gets colder
New York has seen an increase in total crime of almost 50 percent, and transit crime has risen to almost 61 percent
Track Trespass chief Jamie Torres-Springer said the tunnel camp “directly leads to road accidents”. The agency began tracking these incidents in January.
About 160 rail incidents were reported in January and about 50 were attributed to the mentally ill, Torres-Springer told the New York Post. The other incident included slipping and falling, pushing, intoxication and suicide.
“Last year, there were 1,267 human accidents on the runways, a 20% increase from 2019,” Torres-Springer told the New York Post. “Of these accidents, 200 resulted in a train crash and 68 deaths.” About a quarter of the rail collisions were committed by people trying to commit suicide, he said.
The MTA recently announced that three subway stations will now be equipped with platform barriers and laser technology that detects movement to avoid throwing people or jumping on the rails. However, the implementation of the project will take years and will cost billions, the agency said.
“It will take some time,” MTA President Jano Liber said on Wednesday. “Our goal is to test these technologies in various places in the system, including three stations, testing the doors of the platform.” to commit suicide by jumping on the rails. ”
Platform doors have been under consideration for years, and a 2017 report estimates that the city will cost nearly $ 7 billion to install platform doors at nearly 500 stations in New York City.
“While we are pleased that the platform doors are being tested, we do not believe this is the answer throughout the system, as it would mean upgrading the platform, possibly temporarily closing stations and other problems, including leveling rolling stock.” MTA citizens Advisory Committee member Kara Girl said on Wednesday.