The Police Department of New York and the MTA plan on evacuating all homeless men and women out of the New York City subway stations starting next week.
According to The Huffington Post, this new plan set by the NYPD and MTA will start on Monday, Feb. 24 at 3 a.m. At that time, transit workers, NYPD officers and EMT’s will clear out the homeless who have been taking shelter at all E train stations at Jamaica Center and the World Trade Center.
The rise in homeless taking shelter in the subways has increased to more than 1,800 people living in subway cars during 2013 - nearly double the number from 2009 due to our harsh winter conditions New Yorkers have been experiencing.
According to officials, every time the train pulls into one of the stations, the groups will search each car and pull out anyone living inside. They will be brought to either a shelter or hospital.
Christie Hofmann, a New York City Transit official, said, “We are not doing this to be cruel to them.”
“[Homelessness] is not going to get solved overnight, but we are working on it together with police officers,” she added.
The Daily News reports that homelessness has increased 90 percent and the new initiative is costing $6 million to help those without a home.
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