Picture this. You’re a young adult living in NYC and life could not be any better. You’re financially stable, studying at the school of your dreams, and have found love amidst a bustling city. This is the typical NYC lifestyle often romanticized by those who move here to pursue such a life.
Unfortunately, there are multiple issues deeply embedded in the Big Apple that haven’t been properly addressed. With a population of eight million people, not everyone has access to affordable housing, thus leading to the large homelessness crisis. The crisis has caused many New Yorkers to fear for their safety in the city. Despite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic has caused less people to utilize the subways, its crimes have only increased. From the beginning of 2020 towards November, subways have reported higher rates of assault, homicide, rape, and robbery than in the previous year.
On February 12th, at 11 PM, a homeless man was found dead on a subway train in Queens after being stabbed. Just two hours later, a homeless woman was found stabbed to death on the same NYC subway line. This time, she was found dead on a station in Upper Manhattan. However, these were not the only attacks to occur; another homeless man was stabbed while sleeping on a subway station exit. He was eventually sent to a hospital and reported to be in stable condition. The New York Police Department reported that they believed all three attacks were connected. Within the time frame of one day, those attacks had occurred on the A line or at one of their reported stations. Thus leading to suspicions over a serial killer who was on the loose, known as the “A-Train Ripper”.
Despite the increase in subway crimes, homeless people continue to reside in subways and stations. The reason why homeless people are sleeping in stations and on the subways is to avoid contracting COVID-19. The MTA has removed benches in their subway stations in an attempt to prevent homeless people from using them. To help out the homelessness crisis, NYC has created many private shelter beds in hotel rooms to take homeless people off of the subways. Unsanitary group shelters also welcome them with open arms, but the risk of contracting the virus there increases.A day after the A train attacks, the NYPD announced that there would be 500 more officers located throughout the city’s subway systems to ensure the safety of its civilians. They also recalled the time when four homeless men in Chinatown were beaten to death with a metal bar in October 2019. Without properly addressing the homelessness crisis in NYC, the city will continue to face crimes targeted at homeless civilians. The sole reason why they are in their predicament is due to the rising housing prices. If more affordable housing is granted to homeless people, the homelessness crisis in NYC would no longer be as severe.
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Written by Kelly from NYC
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