Getting back on track
Adams releases ‘subway safety plan’ to remove homeless
BY BEN BRACHFELD
The city has begun executing
a plan that Mayor
Eric Adams unveiled on
Feb. 18 to improve safety on
the subway — mobilizing his
entire administration to prevent
violence underground
and ensure those experiencing
homelessness in the system get
the help they need.
The plan, unveiled by Adams
and Governor Kathy
Hochul at the Fulton Street
subway hub in the Financial
District, calls for increased
NYPD deployment and “omnipresence”
in the subterranean
transit system, a requirement
to enforce the MTA’s “code of
conduct,” cross-agency teams
tasked with outreach towards
those experiencing homelessness
and mental illness, and
connecting them to services.
“The subway plan is a comprehensive
civic strategy that
will do more than deal with a
temporary fi x,” the mayor said.
“You cannot put a band-aid on
a cancerous sore.”
The new plan comes amid a
rash of violent incidents in the
subway attributed to those experiencing
LOCAL NEWS
Mayor Adams unveils his “Subway Safety Plan” alongside Gov. Hochul on Feb. 18, 2022.
homelessness and
untreated mental illness, most
notably the death of Michelle
Go after she was pushed onto
the subway tracks at Times
Square.
Up to 30 of the interagency
“Joint Response Teams,” collaborations
between the Health Department,
Homeless Services,
NYPD, and community-based
providers, are being deployed at
transit hubs and at end-of-line
subway stations with the aim of
engaging homeless people in the
system and connecting them to
shelter, housing, and services.
The mayor said that the aim
of the new plan was to ensure
people get the help they need
and that offending behavior is
corrected, rather than a show
of force, but said that people
would be forcibly ejected if they
PHOTO BY BEN BRACHFELD
were found to pose a danger to
themselves or others.
Meanwhile, offi cers will have
to be more dogged in enforcing
the MTA’s code of conduct,
which prohibits smoking, using
drugs, panhandling, carrying
one’s belongings in a large shopping
cart, and otherwise using
the system as shelter rather than
transportation.
The measures on the city
level will be coupled with an
increased investment in mental
health services on the state
level. The governor said that her
budget proposal includes $27.5
million for more psychiatric
beds, $12.5 million for 500 new
supportive housing beds, and
$9 million to recruit psychiatric
health care personnel.
The plan also calls for new
“drop-in centers” for those experiencing
homelessness and
an increse in “safe haven” and
stabilization beds this year. The
mayor also called on the state to
expand “Kendra’s Law,” which
empowers authorities to involuntarily
commit people to outpatient
treatment.
Homelessness in the subway
has been on the rise in recent
years but has come to the forefront
in the wake of Go’s death,
where a mentally ill homeless
man who had encountered barriers
to treatment pushed her
onto the tracks, to her death.
Homeless advocate Shams
DeBaron enthusiastically endorsed
the plan while standing
side-by-side with the mayor and
governor on Friday, arguing
that the plan seeks to help those
dealing with homelessness rather
than criminalize them.
“I’m so overwhelmed, it’s triggering
in a good way,” DeBaron
said. “I fi nally see that I’m dealing
with an administration and
a government that really cares
for vulnerable New Yorkers and
for all New Yorkers. And that’s
what I’m about.”
Levine continues to probe MTA on
track safety amid subway deaths
BY DEAN MOSES
Manhattan Borough President
Mark Levine is
mounting pressure on
the MTA to take action and release
what he believes to be vital
information following more
deaths on subway tracks this
week.
As previously reported on
amNewYork Metro, Manhattan
Borough President Mark Levine
sent a letter to MTA Chairperson
and CEO Janno Lieber insisting
that subway platform doors be
installed in hopes of preventing
needless deaths such as the
tragic killing of Michelle Alyssa
Go. However, Lieber rebuked
the notion, slamming elected offi
cials for perpetuating the state
of mental health in the city. But
the feud did not end there.
This reporter has learned
that Levine sent a second letter
on Feb. 10 to the transit service
head requesting the release of
transparent and easily digestible
data regarding just how many
individuals have been injured on
the train tracks, along with other
safety concerns. Yet according
to the Manhattan Borough
President, he still has failed to
receive a reply, during which
time more individuals have been
struck by trains. Beginning Feb.
15 night and into the following
day, three people were struck by
subway trains in a 10-hour time
frame (two in Manhattan and
one in Brooklyn). On Feb. 17
another individual was hit and
killed by a train on 125th Street
in Harlem.
The MTA told amNewYork
the wellbeing of straphangers
is their top priority
and are actively working to
improve conditions.
“Safety of our customers
is paramount, and the MTA’s
Track Intrusion Task Force is
working aggressively to fi nd
solutions for the detection and
prevention of incidents involving
trains striking people, as
well as to enhance the amount
of available public information.
Data is consistently released
about all facets of transit operations,
including the 3,920-
page study on the feasibility of
subway platform-edge barriers
that has generated considerable
Waiting for a train at the 51st street station.
public discussion. Whatever
steps are taken to protect riders
need to be carefully considered,
effective and provide substantial
value to taxpayers whose money
is being spent,” MTA spokesperson,
Michael Cortez said.
Meanwhile, on Feb. 23, Lieber
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
announced that the MTA
would launch a platform door
pilot program at three subway
stations – including Times
Square and 6th Avenue in Manhattan
— to assess whether the
barriers would be a viable safety
solution for the MTA.
Schneps Media February 24, 2022 3