Recently, news articles have been covering the abundance of homeless people flooding the streets of NYC this summer. As the city reaches an almost record breaking count of 59,000 homeless people, it’s clear why the situation has been brought to our attention by the media and people of NYC. Our Director of Sales, Joe Ryder, joins the many New Yorkers who have something to say about this issue:
“Here’s the deal: I’ve been commuting into New York City for over 25 years, by subway, cabs, the LIRR, NJ Transit, you name it. And it’s true; the amount of homeless people that you see on the streets lately seems to have skyrocketed. Between this and all of the media coverage on the issue, I’ve started thinking, ‘What is acceptable for New Yorkers to deal with on their daily commute, and what crosses the line?’ Let me explain…
Stepping in food or garbage the minute you walk off the subway or out of Penn Station has been checked off as acceptable by us New Yorkers; the fact that there are gropers and scammers in Times Square is acceptable, because at least we can avoid going to that area if we wish. We accept daily sightings of rats, as we understand that they outnumber us and that there is absolutely no solution to this problem. We accept traffic, and get annoyed when people attempt to fix it for the worse. So, what do we not accept? What do we want? We want to be safe; it is unacceptable to fear our commute to work. All we want is to arrive home to our loved ones in one piece.
I cannot avoid walking from Penn Station to my office every morning; the commute just is what it is. I should be able to walk to work without having to worry about getting harassed, screamed at, or threatened by Sideshow Bob act-alikes, who clearly have mental issues. I’m not sure what the solution is, but I suspect that whoever was in charge of this a year ago does know. The homeless of this city, our fellow New Yorkers, need help, and this issue needs to be addressed.”
Last month, when Mayor de Blasio was asked about the predominance of homeless people on the streets, and in the parks and subways, he responded, “We put a huge investment in new mental health services into the recently passed city budget. On the housing side, we have the most ambitious affordable housing plan in the history of the city.”
Read more about de Blasio’s statement here.
Do you feel safe on your daily commute? What do you think about all of this? Share your thoughts with us on LinkedIn or tweet them to us!