Mayor Eric Adams charged on Thursday that his administration has made large strides in getting these dwelling with homelessness out of the subway system, whilst some critics say the affect has been minor.
Picture by Dean Moses
Mayor Eric Adams charged on Thursday that his administration has made large strides in getting these dwelling with homelessness out of the subway system, whilst some critics say the affect has been minor.
Hizzoner made the announcement on the thirty fourth Road-Herald Sq. subway station on March 20 whereas standing alongside NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta and NYC Division of Social Companies Commissioner Molly Wasow Park. Adams lauded the Partnership Help for Transit Homelessness program (PATH) for partaking with 11,000 unhoused New Yorkers since being carried out in August 2024. He additionally said that outreach employees have given shelter, meals, and medical remedy over 3,000 occasions.
“Allowing people to sleep in our subway system, allowing people to sleep on our streets — it’s just inhumane, and we were unwilling to just walk by our fellow brothers and sisters and see them suffering with mental health issues and act like it does not exist,” Adams mentioned. “PATH is our innovative way to ensure that we use all of our resources to tackle this problem.”
This system additionally contains the NYPD Transit Bureau, which, together with helping the outreach groups, has issued 290 summonses and eliminated 911 folks from the transit system for violating high quality of life circumstances.
“Allowing people to sleep in our subway system, allowing people to sleep on our streets — it’s just inhumane, and we were unwilling to just walk by our fellow brothers and sisters and see them suffering with mental health issues and act like it does not exist,” Adams mentioned.Picture by Dean Moses
Chief Gulotta additionally identified that police have been making an attempt to zero in on subway recidivists to return to the bowels of the town to commit crimes.
“The Mayor and Police Commissioner put a lot of resources in transit to keep people safe. We made sure we moved them to where they were needed, the platforms and on the trains,” Gulotta mentioned.
Regardless of championing the immersive variety of people this system has reached, some current stories point out that only a few find yourself receiving long-term housing.
Some riders have additionally made a number of complaints to New York News in current weeks concerning the state of psychological well being within the New York Subway system, stating that regardless of the numbers, they usually see these struggling in plain sight. Nonetheless, the mayor appeared to make sure the general public that his administration was making a distinction.
“I understand New Yorkers are feeling that way. That’s why we decided not to ignore it,” Mayor Adams mentioned. “I understand New York is feeling that way. But trust me, you look at the numbers, it shows that what we were doing is actually working.”
“The Mayor and Police Commissioner put a lot of resources in transit to keep people safe. We made sure we moved them to where they were needed, the platforms and on the trains,” Gulotta mentioned. Picture by Dean Moses
In the meantime, the Coalition for the Homeless, together with the Neighborhood Service Society, The Authorized Help Society, and VOCAL-NY, are asking mayoral candidates to prioritize addressing the homeless disaster for any potential incoming administration.
“For too long, mayors and mayoral candidates have promised to address New York City’s longstanding homelessness crisis, and yet year after year, administration after administration, the crisis only persists and worsens,” mentioned David Jones, president and CEO of the Neighborhood Service Society of New York.
In the meantime, the Coalition for the Homeless, together with the Neighborhood Service Society, The Authorized Help Society, and VOCAL-NY, are asking mayoral candidates to prioritize addressing the homeless disaster for any potential incoming administration.Picture by Dean Moses 
“I understand New Yorkers are feeling that way. That’s why we decided not to ignore it,” Mayor Adams mentioned. “I understand New York is feeling that way. But trust me, you look at the numbers, it shows that what we were doing is actually working.”Picture by Dean Moses
