Homeless people take shelter at a New York subway station on April 13 (SPENCER PLATT)<\/i><\/p>\n
New York (AFP) – New York leaders pledged Wednesday to take action against a surge of homeless people sleeping on empty subway trains during the city’s coronavirus crisis.<\/p>\n
Photos and video showing the homeless seeking shelter in the Big Apple’s underground transit system have circulated widely on social media this week, sparking outrage. <\/p>\n
“The cars were filthy, they were disgusting, homeless people were there with all their belongings,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo, lamenting a “deterioration” in the conditions of the network.<\/p>\n
He ordered the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the independent body which runs the subway, to come up with a plan to scrub every train every day.<\/p>\n
“Any essential worker who shows up and gets on a train should know that that train was disinfected the night before.<\/p>\n
“The trains have to be clean,” Cuomo told reporters, adding that the homeless should also be able to get the services that they need.<\/p>\n
New York’s lockdown, implemented in mid-March, has resulted in a 90 percent drop in riders, freeing up space on trains and in stations for people who sleep on the streets.<\/p>\n
The New York Post tabloid on Tuesday published a video shot by a conductor which showed multiple people sleeping on benches in various cars of a single train.<\/p>\n
Piles of boxes, bags and luggage lay beside them.<\/p>\n
“I gotta go to work in this. It’s not making any sense,” the conductor, 25-year-old Torry Chalmers, can be heard saying.<\/p>\n
It followed photos published by rival tabloid the Daily News which showed similar scenes.<\/p>\n
The MTA has been the subject of a tussle between the mayor and the governor for years with both passing the buck for who is responsible for investing in the much-maligned metro.<\/p>\n
In a column published in the New York Post Monday, the MTA’s acting president called on Mayor Bill de Blasio not to let the underground become a shelter for the homeless.<\/p>\n
De Blasio announced a proposal this week to close ten end-of-line stations between midnight and 5:00 am to allow carriages to be cleaned and police to empty stations of any homeless people.<\/p>\n
It would also allow outreach workers to help move the homeless into shelters. However overcrowding in the city’s shelters has led to fears that COVID-19 could spread there.<\/p>\n
Social media users sympathetic to the plight of the homeless say they are forced to go underground because of a lack of other options, with cafes closed due to the lockdown.<\/p>\n
Disclaimer:<\/b> Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Homeless people take shelter at a New York subway station on April 13 (SPENCER PLATT) New York (AFP) – New York leaders pledged Wednesday to take action against a surge of homeless people sleeping on empty subway trains during the city’s coronavirus crisis. Photos and video showing the homeless seeking shelter in the Big Apple’s…<\/p>\n