NYC begins plan to move homeless from subway as crime surges

New York City began its push to remove subway riders using the transit system for shelter, part of a strategy to reduce crime and restore confidence in the nation’s largest public transportation network.

Teams from the departments of homeless services and of health and mental hygiene went out early Tuesday to talk with riders who lacked housing and help them find shelter, Jason Wilcox, the New York City Police Department’s transit chief, said during  Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee hearings on Tuesday. The outreach “went fairly seamlessly,” according to Wilcox, who didn’t say how many individuals have been removed.

There were multiple violent incidents on the subway this past weekend, including at least one stabbing, after Mayor Eric Adams on Friday announced the plan for response teams to assist riders experiencing homelessness and individuals with health issues. The program will add police officers to enforce transit rules that prohibit smoking, drug use, fare evasion and sleeping on the subway.

The strategy is part of the MTA’s push to increase rider confidence in the system as more individuals suffering from mental health issues and homelessness have been sheltering on transit during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Of eight subway attacks this weekend, one was believed to be by a homeless person, according to the New York Times.

Ridership Drop

Crime has also spiked. There were eight murders on the subway last year, the most since at least 1997. A woman last month was killed after being pushed onto the tracks before an oncoming train at the Times Square subway station. 

“There is no time to waste as we keep hearing from our riders that the situation is less than ideal,” Janno Lieber, the MTA’s CEO, said during the committee meetings. “This weekend there were way too many violent incidents on the system.”

Boosting passengers’ confidence in the system is crucial as the MTA needs to restore ridership to 2019 levels and increase farebox revenue collections. Weekday subway ridership last week was about 60% of pre-pandemic levels.

“We need a system that feels safe and comfortable for all New Yorkers to support the region’s recovery,” Lieber said. “It really is essential.”

Rising Concern

There were 57 reported robberies on the subway in January, more than double the 24 incidents reported in the some month last year, according to MTA data. Total major felonies in January increased to 198 compared to 114 a year earlier. 

“Our mayor, although has good ideas, you can’t police this subway station, it’s impossible, you do not have enough manpower to do it,” said Calvin Pinckney, 64, while waiting for the uptown A, C, E line at Manhattan’s Penn Station on Tuesday. “To have social workers come around to talk to homeless people, where do they go? There is not enough space to put homeless people.”

Wilcox is concerned about an increase in knives and other such items used in altercations.

“What is disturbing as I look at felony assaults so far this year, 40% involve cutting instruments,” Wilcox said. “So again, this is very significant, very serious, very dangerous.”

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