Homeless Subway Riders To Get Services Instead Of Tickets: City

NEW YORK — Homeless subway riders will get services instead of tickets under a pilot program that aims to get them out of the trains and into shelters, city officials said Thursday.

Starting July 1, NYPD cops will take a more lenient approach to homeless people who commit minor infractions in the subway system in Manhattan. Instead of slapping them with civil summonses for violations such as fare-beating or lying down on trains, officers will send eligible people to an office where they will be referred to a shelter, detox facility or kinds of help, according to city officials.

The program is an effort to keep New Yorkers out of the court system as transit officials reportedly grapple with an increase in subway disruptions caused by homeless riders.

"New Yorkers want homeless people in the subway to receive the right interventions that will help them get back on their feet," Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. "Subjecting these individuals to criminal justice involvement for low level, non-violent offenses is not the answer and does not help anyone."

But the Coalition for the Homeless, an advocacy group, says the program will only "further criminalize" homeless people on the subway. They stay away from services in part because there is a lack of safe shelter and supportive housing in the city, said Giselle Routhier, the coalition's policy director.

"Reducing the tragedy of people taking makeshift refuge in transit facilities and on the trains means giving them somewhere better to go — not using the police to chase them in circles," Routhier said in a statement.

The city recorded 2,178 homeless people in the subways during its annual count in January, marking a 23 percent increase from last year. They accounted for more than half the 3,588 unsheltered homeless people that night, a city report shows.

Homeless riders have reportedly caused a growing number of problems on the rails. The MTA recorded 856 disruptions caused by homeless people last year, more than triple the 254 seen in 2008, NY1 reported on Monday.

Under the city's new program, NYPD officers will determine whether homeless people caught committing small violations of transit rules are eligible for services instead of arresting them and issuing a civil summons, the mayor's office said.

Those who agree to participate will be brought to one of four Manhattan offices where the nonprofit Bowery Residents' Committee will complete a more detailed assessment and discuss what services would be best, officials said. The committee will also work with the NYPD and the MTA to clear the person's summons, according to the mayor's office.

Cops will continue to arrest anyone committing a violent crime, officials say. The program will be tested in Manhattan but city agencies will examine its impact evaluate whether it should be expanded, the mayor's office said.

"Our City is focused on continually finding new ways to reach New Yorkers in need where they are and encourage them to accept services," Steven Banks, the city's social services commissioner, said in a statement. "... Diverting individuals from criminal justice system involvement while helping them come out of the subways and into shelter and housing programs is a win for everyone."

The MTA worked with the city to develop the pilot program, a spokesman for the agency said. The subway's growing homelessness problem is one transit agencies cannot handle by themselves, New York City Transit President Andy Byford said.

"We’re working closely with our partners to develop innovative and humane solutions that balance the needs of vulnerable people with our duty to provide our customers and staff a clean and safe environment, and we’re grateful to our City partners for collaborating with us and launching this new initiative," Byford said in a statement.