Pols Keep Making Homelessness a Transit Issue, But it is a Housing Issue

Homeless people seeking shelter in the subway system is neither a transit issue nor a policing issue — but city and state leaders are now battling over different ways to move people along or criminalize them without addressing the central issue, transit and homeless advocates charge.

“Homeless people in transit is a reflection of the housing crisis — it’s not something that can be addressed by the MTA and NYPD,” said Danny Pearlstein of Riders Alliance. “People need a safe, private place to live. If every New Yorker had that we wouldn’t have a problem with homeless people on the subway.”