The Metro Transportation Authority blamed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for the homelessness situation on subway trains during the coronavirus pandemic.
Subway trains have been running in New York City but are be reserved for essential workers. Lately, Metro Transportation Authority officers have struggled to keep homeless people off the trains while dealing with crime on the platforms, including indecent exposure, public urination, and arson.
On Tuesday, de Blasio asked the Metro Transportation Authority to close stations at night to allow any homeless people to be removed and to clean the trains. “We all know for decades there have been homeless people in the subways going from one end of a line back again, back again, all night long. That needs to stop,” he said.
“The way to disrupt the pattern is between midnight and 5 a.m. Close the stations. Deep clean those stations, which is good for everyone in this moment,” de Blasio added.
De Blasio said the city would provide police and outreach officials to help clear the subway systems at night. He also announced the city was providing 200 additional beds for the homeless, though advocates believe the city needs thousands more.
A spokeswoman for the Metro Transportation Authority responded to de Blasio’s request, writing, “We are relieved on behalf of our customers and employees that the city has agreed to do more to provide safe shelter for homeless New Yorkers, but it should not have taken a global pandemic for the city to do the job the MTA has called on it to do for years.”
“The MTA is taking trains out of service at end-of-line and other stations for a short period of time to improve safety and cleanliness while mitigating the impact on essential workers,” Abbey Collins said.
Collins asked the city to provide police and social workers at each of the end-of-line locations to assist moving passengers out of the trains so they can sanitize each car. She said the MTA was forced to hire private security to help clear the trains because of a lack of support from the city.
“The mayor should get out of his car and into the subways so he can see what is really going on and solve the problem of his own making,” Collins added. “Our mass transit system is the lifeblood of New York City and it has never been more important.”
UPDATE:
In response to city asking MTA to close terminal stations for homeless outreach, the MTA will instead take trains out of service for a short period of time.
MTA spokeswoman says Mayor de Blasio should “get out of his car and into the subways” to see problem pic.twitter.com/5zM8lFcbkE
— Dan Rivoli (@danrivoli) April 28, 2020
During his press conference on Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the homelessness situation on the trains “disgusting” and “disrespectful” to the essential workers who need to ride the subway.
