The spread of homelessness in Manhattan continues, with new ramshackle encampments emerging all over the city along with hotels that are b...
The spread of homelessness in Manhattan continues, with new ramshackle encampments emerging all over the city along with hotels that are being used to house 13,000 people who were previously in shelters.
Around 20 people are believed to be living along West 24th Street, on the corner with Sixth Avenue, The New York Post reported. The camp is one block from the landmark Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park.
There are also new encampments in Greenwich Village, Tribeca, the East Village and Midtown.
It comes as more than 13,000 homeless people settle into hotels across the city after being removed from homeless shelters to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks.
Now, they are living in some luxury hotels in the Garment District and Upper West Side and are terrifying residents. De Blasio says they'll stay there until there's a vaccine which could be another six months.
There are also fewer police on the streets since de Blasio and the city council cut the NYPD's budget by $1billion in response to pressure from BLM activists last month.
Many wealthy residents have fled their homes in fear, taking their disposable income and tax dollars with them. De Blasio waved them off, calling them 'fair weather friends' who will be replaced.
The block, running along West 24th Street on the corner with Sixth Avenue, has become a dumping ground for trash
Homeless people have moved in to the street, making use of the furniture thrown out by fleeing New Yorkers
'We call 311 so many times and they don't come,' said Sam Fernando, a worker at 725 Video.
'They block the door. I ask them nicely to move and they want to fight,' he told the paper. They harass the customers. How can you do business in an environment like this?'
Some have constructing makeshift shelters out of flower pots, plastic gates or shopping carts. Others have claimed doorways to sleep in as their own.
With an estimated 500,000 people having left the city since the pandemic begun, abandoned furniture abounds, and homeless people have crafted their own shelters.
Richard Charlton, owner of Sixth Avenue's A+ Access Locksmith, agreed that it was harming his business.
'I have a lot of customers that complain,' he told the paper.
'They don't want to come down this block.'
He said the homeless people begun arriving when the area was shuttered due to the pandemic, and 'never left'.
'They just kept on coming,' he said.
A homeless encampment continues to thrive on 6th Ave and 24th street as a police cruise sits by and does nothing while the store owners in the neighborhood complain about the ongoing issue.
A homeless encampment continues to thrive on 6th Ave and 24th street as a police cruise sits by and does nothing while the store owners in the neighborhood complain about the ongoing issue
A homeless encampment continues to thrive on 6th Ave and 24th street as a police cruise sits by and does nothing while the store owners in the neighborhood complain about the ongoing issue
A homeless encampment that has taken hold on 6th ave and 24th in Manhattan on Aug 12 2020
Members of the NYPD walked along Sixth Avenue on Wednesday, but did not take any action about the chaos
The officers left without doing anything to improve the situation, which is unsanitary and unsafe for all concerned
A homeless encampment that has taken hold on 6th Ave and 24th in Manhattan. The camp is seen above on Tuesday
Charlton, whose store was closed between March and June, said it was disheartening to weather one storm only to return to another.
De Blasio, pictured on August 11 eating in Chinatown at Wo Hop, vowed to do something about the camp but hasn't yet
'I was almost at the brink of shutting down,' he said. 'It's overwhelming to be shut down for so long — business is slow — and to come back to this? It's discouraging.'
The owner of The Corner Cafe said he has called the police 'almost 20 to 30 times' over the past two months for various issues with the encampment.
When the police would respond at all, the homeless simply moved away until the police left, then circled back, he said.
A spokesman for the Department of Social Services, which includes the Department of Homeless Services, said that city agencies have conducted a 'full clean-up' at the location twice since de Blasio's July 23 press briefing.
A third clean-up is being scheduled, the spokesman added, noting that individuals at the encampment have previously declined services.
The homeless were seen queuing outside the Double Tree hotel on West 36th. De Blasio has said that the scheme will carry on until there is a vaccine, which may be another six months from now, and that then he will be looking to buy buildings that he can turn into affordable housing
Fairfield Springhill Suites on 36th Street, another of the hotels in the Garment District, is being used
Large numbers of homeless men have been moved into three hotels in New York City's Upper West Side, much to the dismay of local residents, who have complained of drug use, public urination and cat calling. Pictured: A group of men loiter at Broadway and 79th Street
In the last five years the number of shootings fell to a low of 754 in 2018, but is now rising
The NYPD's Homeless Outreach Unit was disbanded last month, with its approximately 85 officers reassigned to combat rising shootings.
A Sanitation Department car visited the intersection on Wednesday, the New York Post reported, with a worker taking photos of the scene.
'We clean up and they come back every day,' said the worker.
He said his bosses wanted to see the images. 'They just want us to take pictures every day.'
The Chelsea homeless camp is far from the only one troubling Manhattan at the moment.
In the East Village, homeless people sheltering under scaffolding near St Mark's Place have been repeatedly cleared away, only to return.
And in the Upper West Side, a homeless camp near 79th Street and Broadway is causing misery for locals
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