Are Homeless People on the Subways Causing Increased Grime, as Well as Crime?

By Yehudit Garmaise

     Gov. Andrew Cuomo has claimed that after the New York City subways were shutdown overnight for more than a year for nightly four-hour cleanings that aimed to disinfect the train during COVID, “the trains have never been cleaner.” 

    New Yorkers, however, who are returning to the rails, which have been running 24/7 since, May, do not necessarily agree with the governor’s assessment.

     Yesterday, the Daily News reported hundreds of instances seriously filthy train cars that were recorded by officials of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

     Although spilled drinks, recently seen on every single seat in one subway car, are a common sight on public transportation, the MTA reported a troubling rise of instances of train cars that are sullied by garbage, blood, and human waste.

     This morning, when reporter mentioned the possibility that the presence of so many “emotionally-disturbed people” on the trains could account not just for the recent increase of crime, but for the increase of grime as well, Mayor Bill de Blasio skirted the dirt, completely.

   “What role could the NYPD play in decreasing both crime and grime?” the reporter asked the mayor. 

   “We have the most NYPD officers in over 25 years in our subways because we want to give people confidence in our subway system again,” said Mayor de Blasio, without mentioning anything at all the NYPD might do to regulate the cleanliness of the subways.

     “The officers are out there doing their jobs, and the homeless outreach workers, who do amazing work, are out there doing their jobs,” said the mayor.

     “They've gotten a lot of folks to come in who were homeless, and that's been more successful than ever before.”