NYC Begins Plan to Move Homeless From Subway as Crime Surges
- Subway robberies more than doubled in January from 2021
- Weekday subway ridership is nearly 60% of 2019 levels
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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New York City began its push to remove subway riders using the transit system for shelter, part of a strategy to reduce crime and restore confidence in the nation’s largest public transportation network.
Teams from the departments of homeless services and of health and mental hygiene went out early Tuesday to talk with riders who lacked housing and help them find shelter, Jason Wilcox, the New York City Police Department’s transit chief, said during Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee hearings on Tuesday. The outreach “went fairly seamlessly,” according to Wilcox, who didn’t say how many individuals have been removed.