- The New York City MTA said on Twitter it had removed banks from stations to prevent homeless people from sleeping on them.
- The tweet, which has since been removed, has caused an immediate backlash from thousands of people on Twitter.
- An MTA spokesman said the tweet “was posted incorrectly.”
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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agency responsible for the New York Subway system, sparked outrage on Friday when it said on Twitter that it had removed banks from subway stations in an effort to stop homeless people from sleeping on them.
On Friday morning, a Twitter user snapped a photo at the 23rd Street subway station in Manhattan showing a platform without banks. Inquiring about the lack of seating, he marked the official account of the MTA along with the photo. About 20 minutes later, he received a reply from @NYCTSubway, the account that the MTA used to facilitate customer support and announce changes in metro services.
‘Hello, Jeremy,’ reads the reply, sent by an individual identified as ‘JP’. “Benches have been removed from stations to prevent homeless people from sleeping on them.”
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The tweet caused outrage, citing hundreds of replies and thousands of tweets, which are similar to replies but that allow Twitter users to share the original tweet on their timelines. Some call the policy ‘completely angry“and”cruel, “while others have said that the removal of banks has consequences for people with disabilities who rely on banks while waiting for trains to arrive at stations.
The MTA removed the tweet Saturday afternoon.
In this tweet, which has since been removed, the MTA said benches had been removed from subway stations to “prevent homeless people from sleeping on them.” Screenshot via Twitter
In a statement to Insider, an MTA spokesman said the tweet was a mistake.
“The tweet was posted incorrectly and has since been removed. The subway is not a substitute for a shelter, and homeless New Yorkers deserve much better care. We worked with the City on this important issue and called for more dedication. mental health and medical resources urgently needed to resolve the homeless crisis exacerbated by the pandemic. ‘
“As someone with arthritis, it’s great to hear that I’m in a lot of pain right now to prevent another person from suffering less.” said one woman in a tweet.
“I’m disabled so I can not cause seating,” said another said.
Others said they were surprised that an MTA representative would willingly recognize such a policy.
“You have to be new – you have to come up with an acceptable excuse that does not make the agency sound like it’s run by monsters,” he said. tweeted a person.
It is not clear where, in how many places or when the MTA removed seats from metro stations, and the agency refused to answer follow-up questions. According to a report by Gothamist in February 2020, the agency last year removed the backs of about a dozen banks at the subway station in West 4th Street to reduce the number of people sleeping in that problematic station.
As Gothamist noted, the MTA has in the past regretted advocating for homeless people, as officials in the past blamed the homeless for causing unhygienic conditions at stations, being disruptive and causing train delays.
Lawyers also scrutinized New York’s Subway Diversion Program last year, implemented in 2019, by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Advocates said the program could not address the causes of homelessness, and that the police would rather criminalize homeless people. The program was quietly discontinued in July 2020, reports NY1.
The MTA was also criticized for its decision to close May stations from 1am to 5pm which he said was an attempt to disinfect stations to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The announcement was made by the New York government, Andrew Cuomo, who controls the MTA.
Cuomo’s office did not return Insider’s request for comment.
“The MTA and the City’s ongoing efforts to discourage homeless New Yorkers from staying on the subway are not only cruel but also counterproductive,” said Josh Dean, executive director of Human.nyc, an organization in New York York, focused on ‘unprotected homelessness’. told Insider.
“By moving people around, it becomes infinitely more difficult for people to obtain permanent housing, as it becomes almost impossible for homeless outreach teams to maintain contact and work people through the city’s bureaucratic nightmare of applying for housing,” he said. Dean said.