Mayor says public fear of subways is driving riders from the system and announces more mental health support to homeless
Highlights
- New York leaders released a plan to strictly enforce rules on the New York City subway as part of an aggressive effort to remove homeless people from the city’s sprawling transit system.
- The plan comes in light of an uptick in felony assaults in the subway which, while rare, were up 25% in 2021 compared with 2019.
- Mayor Eric Adams in January vowed to increase subway inspections and add 1,000 more cops to the system.
- Advocates for unhoused people living in the city say that, given the historic shortage of stable temporary and permanent housing, increased enforcement on the subway does not solve homelessness.
- The city says it will also create new drop-in centers close to key subway stations that will provide ‘an immediate pathway for individuals to come indoors”