It should come as no surprise that not all unhoused people are the same. There are many different ways to be unhoused, many different reasons to be unhoused, and many different circumstances in which those folks are living (e.g. with their family, battling a drug addiction, working one or more jobs, multiple things). There are vastly different things that different unhoused people need, and I think what this article may be getting at is that the city isn’t offering enough of those different resources. (And maybe they can’t.)

For example, there’s a nonprofit that specifically helps women in shelters with financial literacy who have escaped abusive homes where they never learned how to manage money. That is a very specific problem that could make a huge difference for some people. We think a lot about the part where unhoused people may be dealing with drug additions and/or mental illness (I can’t imagine being unhoused for a prolonged amount of time and not having some kind of mental illness considering how stressful that must be), but there is also no one solution to how to handle that.

Yes, there are inevitably some unhoused people who do bad, destructive things, who are incredibly difficult to provide care for because they don’t want it. But I think it’s a bad faith argument to abandon anyone and especially to use those folks as an example as to why other unhoused people don’t deserve to be supported. And I think it’s because of that perspective that some unhoused folks don’t want to be lumped in with others.

Seriously! In a crowd of that size masking up is a smart call. Plus it’s cold out so warm face! Smart guy.

Maybe in other parts but I’m in Jackson Heights and doing okay power wise

I’m shocked we haven’t been getting more personal accounts from people who actually knew him in the past already tbh!!

He also said he had to drop out of Horace Mann HS due to family financial trouble (Horace Mann said they had no record he ever attended).

Edited to add: Oh and that his mom is a European immigrant from Belgium!

Honestly, I’d expect it from regular cops too.

I don’t eat McDonalds anymore, but several years ago on my way home from a drunken early-twenties night on the town, I drunk bought some fries and put the bag in my purse. While on the subway ride home, I knew I was going to vomit. I carefully removed the fry containers from the McDonalds bag and placed them in my purse, and promptly vomited in the then-empty McDonalds bag. When I got off at my stop a few minutes later, I dropped the McDonalds bag of vomit in a trash can and walked home where I feasted drunkenly on my fries.

Thanks, McDonalds. 👍

Allow remote work period too! Most of these jobs don’t require being in an office. My SIL works in government housing (different state) and she works 100% remote.

Looking at your post and comment history, you seem obsessed with crime in NYC, so I don’t think it’s worth engaging with you because I don’t think you’re engaging in good faith.

But just one thing quickly: women and people of color are not exempt from being abusive assholes. And nowhere did I say anything you’re pretending I said. Please take your energy elsewhere, thank you.

Great article. Thank you for the reporting and for sharing!

On a different note, to draw attention to the closing quote: “In this moment bold remedies are necessary, and this administration is ready, willing, and legally able to take such steps.” LOL the Adams administration is capable of bold remedies? Like the War on Rats? Sure, Jan.

We need to close Rikers. It clearly can’t be fixed. I’m pro-union except for unions for law enforcement and correctional officers. Too many bad applies that actively harm others are being protected.

A cabbie refused me service after a Mets game because (I suspect) I wasn’t going far enough for them to get a high fare. 🙄 (I would’ve taken the subway, but I was with my dad, and he was in substantial pain due to his sciatica so going up the stairs since there’s no freaking elevator at Mets Willets Point would have been murder. We took an Uber instead.)

I eagerly voted against Cuomo in every primary election he was in, and I’d be more than happy to do so again. 🥰

While not incorrect at all, there are other factors that I think are still worth taking into account. But this is probably the biggest factor.

The more police I see, the less safe I feel, especially when I’m in a crowded subway station and they’re holding semi-automatic rifles. :)

EDIT: Glad to know y’all don’t worry at all about being a victim of police violence considering all the downvotes I’ve gotten. Must be nice to live in that world.

a) They would be hella effective b) That would make an amazing television series

I mean I have trouble sleeping at night in general, but voting for her despite not being a particular fan won’t make it any worse.

It’s too early to know for sure (the next mayoral election will be in 2025) but I’d be surprised if he didn’t have a challenger. There will definitely BE a primary election, but who will be on the ballot is very much TBD.

no

The primary he won was soooo cloooose… if only more than 26.5% of people voted or didn’t include him on their ranked choice (but DID include multiple others). 😭

Probably - wish we actually voted for them though. Voter turnout was ABYSMAL.