This is your stop, homeless told in push to clean up New York subway
Mayor’s zero-tolerance approach gives police mandate to crack down on surge in violence on metro
NEW York City will begin removing homeless people from subways as part of an aggressive crackdown on growing assault rates on the transport network.
From tomorrow, police will adopt a zero-tolerance approach to unruly behaviour on the subway, Eric Adams, the city’s new mayor, said.
“No more just doing whatever you want. Those days are over. Swipe your MetroCard, ride the system and get off at your destination. That’s what this administration is saying,” he said at a press conference held in a Manhattan subway station.
Hundreds of police officers will be given a “clear mandate” to enforce the subway’s rules of conduct, which bans urinating, drug use or lingering at a station for more than an hour. Fare evasion, a longtime problem on the city’s subway system, will also be addressed, Mr Adams said, adding turning a blind eye to the issue was a “big mistake”.
The measures are a response to the uptick in assaults on the city’s most vital transport system.
Last year the New York Police Department (NYPD) recorded 461 violent incidents on the underground, the highest number since 1997.
The figures were brought into sharp relief by the murder of a 40-year-old woman at Times Square station.
Michelle Go, a 40-year-old managing director at Deloitte, had been waiting to board a train when she was pushed onto the tracks by a homeless man with mental health issues.
The death of Ms Go and several other high-profile shoving incidents have caused some commuters to avoid the subway. Mr Adams, who took office in early January, promised an increased police presence on the subway system as a result.
Under the new measures, announced on Friday by Mr Adams and Kathy Hochul, New York’s governor, NYPD officers will be given additional training on enforcing the rules of conduct.
More than 1,000 homeless people are estimated to regularly shelter in the subway system, particularly during cold winter nights.
Along with increasing enforcement, lawmakers said New York would expand outreach services to homeless people who may be living in the subway.
In addition, dozens of mental health professionals with the power to order the involuntary hospitalisation of people deemed a danger to themselves or others will be brought on to response teams. More so-called “safe haven” beds that provide shelter and on-site social services will also be made available.
“This is not about arresting people, this is about arresting a problem. We’re going to correct the conditions,” Mr Adams said.
The measures prompted immediate criticism from some advocates for homeless people who said that the plan would criminalise mental illness and homelessness.
Peter Malvan, a homeless advocate with the Urban Justice Centre’s Safety Net Project, said: “This approach is wrongheaded, unlawful and is a frightening path to criminalisation.”