NYC Homeless Sleep In Parked Buses As Polar Vortex Hits: MTA

NEW YORK CITY — Homeless New Yorkers will sleep in parked city buses this weekend as a freezing cold polar vortex hits the five boroughs, officials said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority was forced to provide bus shelter for the city's homeless when unseasonably cold weather hit days after the agency halted overnight subway service, according to transit officials.

The National Weather Service issued a freeze warning for New York City from midnight Saturday through 9 a.m. Sunday, when temperatures could dip down to 30 degrees.

"These stationary buses will not transport individuals experiencing homelessness, but may serve as a place for individuals to escape the elements in the short term," said New York City Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg and Transit Workers Union Local 100 President Tony Utano in a joint statement.

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This unprecedented move comes days after the MTA shut down subways from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. to disinfect cars after Gov. Andrew Cuomo demanded the agency address cleanliness issues amid the new coronavirus pandemic.

The MTA estimates about 11,000 riders — among them essential hospital workers — have been relying on late night trains during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Transit data show hundreds of homeless New Yorkers have been asked to leave subways every night since Wednesday, when the subway shutdown began.

More than 1,000 NYPD officers and about 700 transit workers have been working to clear out and clean out the subways, raising questions about whose responsibility it is to care for New Yorkers without homes during the pandemic.

"We are providing these buses only during this cold snap," said Feinberg and Utano, "and expect the city to continue to step up and take responsibility for providing safe shelter for those individuals experiencing homelessness."

There were 882 COVID-19 cases, 73 deaths and 168 hospitalizations confirmed among New York City’s homeless population as of Friday, according to Department of Homeless Services data.

Approximately 7,000 homeless New Yorkers have been relocated to city hotels to improve social distancing conditions in shelters, according to the Department of Social Services.

“We’re doing everything we can to keep those we serve out of harm’s way,” a spokesperson said. “We continue to explore new strategies and policy responses as this situation unfolds.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo skated over the issue when asked during his daily COVID-19 press conference Saturday, going into a lengthy explanation of why it was necessary to close trains and his credentials working with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"We owe it to [essential workers] to disinfect the trains," said Cuomo. "Society does nobody any favors saying you can sleep on a train all night."

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