Forty-five homeless people shelter on New York subway train as temperatures plunge to minus 15C

New York's homeless crisis is threatening to spiral out of control in the wake of a 'bomb cyclone' that hit the US
Getty Images
Daniel Bates11 January 2018

New York’s homeless crisis is threatening to spiral out of control after 45 rough sleepers were seen on a subway train.

The homeless men and women had crowded onto the underground E train when temperatures plunged to minus 15C because of a lack of shelters. As commuters looked on, they curled up under blankets with their belongings in plastic bags. One man took off his soaked boots to dry his socks.

The city’s Democrat mayor, Bill de Blasio, has pledged to combat inequality but has struggled to deal with the homeless problem. In 2013 he vowed to find a solution because there were 51,000 sleeping in shelters, the highest number since the Great Depression. Today the figure stands at more than 60,000.

Some 3,900 people sleep rough on the streets of New York compared with around 8,000 in London.

But in Manhattan they are much more visible due to the lack of a safety net, especially for the mentally ill.

Rough sleepers crowded on to a subway train due to a lack of shelters as temperatures plunged well below freezing
Getty Images

A report in the New York Times said that as the “bomb cyclone” crippled much of America, the homeless in Manhattan were turning to the subway to keep warm.

At 2.30am on a recent trip on the E train the 45 people were spread across the carriages. One man had a bin bag of cans and most were sleeping. The carriage was littered with spirit bottles and other alcohol.

Christopher Mendoza, a supervisor for a security company who was commuting, said: “This whole train is homeless people.”

During the cold spell earlier this month more than 100 officials patrolled the transport system to try to encourage the homeless to go into shelters, but with mixed success.

Snow in New York as 'bomb cyclone' hits US

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New York police said lying on seats and blocking the movement of passengers was forbidden, even for the homeless. A ban on sleeping on the subway is sporadically enforced.

But Mr de Blasio’s officials have admitted they were “naive” to think they could solve the homeless issue easily in New York, which is the third most unequal city in the States.

In 2014, the mayor brought back rental subsidies for homeless families after numbers in shelters rocketed.

More recently, New York has been housing the homeless in expensive private accommodation he has referred to as “cluster sites”.

Under one initiative unveiled last month, these will be converted into affordable homes for the same residents to live in — a move critics branded “even crazier” than his previous policies.

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