New York’s new Mayor Eric Adams has a fresh project to clear the city of its homeless populations.
He says homeless camps need to be gotten rid of because they are making the city unsafe. He previously also launched efforts to rid New York’s subway system of huge amounts of homeless people.
Not everyone is happy with this plan, however. Even though Adams is a Democrat, many members of the left are saying he is heartless and his plan will backfire.
Here are the facts…
New York’s Homeless Crisis
In addition to a huge crime spike, New York has a definite homeless crisis.
Last year alone, there were 45,299 recorded as being in homeless shelters in the city. This means there are far more homeless people than that who are not seeking help in shelters and are fully on the streets.
This includes 180 homeless camps throughout the city, which is what Adams is now promising to get rid of. Adams said he is particularly disgusted by used needles on the ground and people going to the bathroom on the street.
He called it “undignified” and said solutions need to be developed immediately, starting with taking down these temporary camps and getting homeless folks to seek other solutions.
However, critics are pointing out you can’t force people into shelters. Many homeless don’t want to go to shelters because they find them unsafe.
It’s also because the shelters don’t allow drug and alcohol use or have facilities to deal with those with serious mental illness.
After announcing he plans to destroy every homeless encampment in NYC this week, and has no plans to house anyone, Eric Adams went to the club for an event sponsored by Wells Fargo. To launch a new credit card for rich people to pay rent with. You truly can't parody this guy.
— Read Becoming Abolitionists by Derecka Purnell (@JoshuaPotash) March 29, 2022
Adams Isn’t Just Talk
Adams isn’t just talk. He’s serious about ripping up these camps and clearing the streets. City authorities recently took down a large homeless camp under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Adams said it’s “unacceptable” to have ramshackle tents and shelters set up everywhere near streets, parks, and schools. He said it shows how “dysfunctional” New York is after former Mayor Bill de Blasio ran it.
Adams is trying to help, and also recently announced the opening of new shelters in the city. Yet, critics on the left say Adams is being too tough on the homeless and clearing their living areas without giving most of them an alternative.
In particular, they’d like to see a higher number of shelters opened and legislation to lower rent and provide more affordable housing, healthcare and prescription coverage.
can't believe the nerve of @NYCMayor saying that homeless people on the street "can't take care of themselves"when literally every person living on the streets could teach a goddamn master class on survival and resourcefulness in a city offering them literally nothing at all.
— Jenny Akchin (@jennyaction) March 30, 2022
The Bottom Line
This is Joe Biden’s America; this is Bill de Blasio’s New York: excrement-covered streets full of needles and people in tents.
Adams is just trying to respond to the ugly reality staring him in the face. If this problem is allowed to continue growing, half of New York will become a dystopian homeless warzone.
What do you think? Is Adams right here or is he going too far?
