Homeless advocates are decrying efforts by the city to address the crisis of homeless sheltering in the subway system with enhanced policing measures. In recent days Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced a nightly cleaning of the subways in order to maintain sanitary conditions, at which time the police eject the homeless. Additional proposals limiting how long someone may remain in a subway station are being advanced by the MTA as well, according to StreetsBlog.

NYC’s defender organizations have slammed the approach as a veritable confirmation of de Blasio’s failure to address the chronic underfunding of the city’s homeless shelter system, now under greater strain than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Once again, this is an unproductive approach by Mayor de Blasio, Governor Cuomo, and the MTA to tackle the homelessness crisis on the subway. Amid the public health pandemic, we should be focusing on creating more housing for those who need it, not increasing NYPD policing,” said Joshua Goldfein, a staff attorney in the Homeless Rights Project at The Legal Aid Society.