Why I slept on the subways: They were a safer refuge than shelters for homeless the public holds in contempt Posted on May 12, 2020 by Sarah Murphy in New York Daily News I was upset when I heard the announcement that the subways would be shut down overnight — not only because I have been sleeping on the subways for two years, but because of the dehumanizing language used to refer to myself and other homeless New Yorkers. Wit ..Read More
The Coalition for the Homeless Responds to the COVID-19 Crisis Posted on May 12, 2020 by Sarah Murphy The COVID-19 crisis pushed countless more New Yorkers into homelessness at the same time that many frontline services had to suspend operations. To meet the tremendous surge in need on the streets, the Coalition for the Homeless has been working 24/7 to bring ..Read More
In New York’s subway shutdown, an unthinkable departure Posted on May 11, 2020 by Sarah Murphy in Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — It’s not the end of the line. But it once was. When the first New York subway line connected Lower Manhattan to Harlem in 1904, the stop at 145th Street was its terminus. Since that inaugural run, the subway has never ceased running. There ..Read More
NYC Shuttles Homeless Men from Subway to Packed Shelter Posted on May 10, 2020 by Sarah Murphy in The City The convoy arrived in the chilly Manhattan darkness around 1:30 a.m.: vehicles pulling up one after the other outside 30th Street Men’s Shelter, the city’s biggest refuge for homeless New Yorkers. The passengers who emerged at this temporary bus stop all s ..Read More
The New York City Subway System Suspends Its Round-The-Clock Service Posted on May 6, 2020 by Sarah Murphy in NPR The New York City subway system has suspended its 24-hour service due to the coronavirus pandemic. Transit officials say they need more time to clean and have to save money while ridership is down. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: One of the hallmarks of New York City was i ..Read More
Homeless Stranded by Subway Shutdown End up on Streets and Buses Posted on May 6, 2020 by Sarah Murphy in The City More than 90% of the estimated 2,000 homeless New Yorkers who have been sleeping on trains and in stations during the pandemic ended up on streets and buses after the first overnight subway shutdown. Just 139 people migrated to city shelters, NYPD officia ..Read More
Closing New York subway will have ‘devastating’ impact on homeless, experts warn Posted on May 6, 2020 by Sarah Murphy in The Guardian New measures to close the New York subway for nightly coronavirus cleaning will have “devastating” consequences for the thousands of homeless people who regularly sleep there, experts have warned. Starting on Wednesday, for the first time in its histo ..Read More
The largest mobile soup kitchen in America is scrambling to keep up with a 50% spike in demand Posted on May 6, 2020 by Sarah Murphy in Business Insider In a kitchen in Harlem, volunteers prepare vats of hot soup every evening, meant to feed hundreds of homeless people across New York City. Juan de la Cruz, who runs the Grand Central Food Program, helps the volunteers by preparing the so ..Read More
The Homeless Will Soon Be Forced Out Of The Subway Overnight. Where Will They Go? Posted on May 4, 2020 by Sarah Murphy in Gothamist When New York City’s nightly subway shutdown begins on Wednesday, Ann Marie Finley doesn’t know where she’ll sleep. One of the city’s estimated 3,600 street homeless, Finley said that she hadn’t heard about Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement ..Read More
