- The MTA in New York City said on Twitter it had removed couches from stations “to prevent homeless people from sleeping on them.”
- The tweet since deleted prompted a response from thousands of people on Twitter.
- A spokesman for the MTA said the tweet was “incorrectly posted.”
- Visit Insider’s Business section for more stories.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agency responsible for the New York Subway system, was angry Friday when it said on Twitter that it had removed benches from subway stations to prevent homeless people from sleeping on them.
On Friday morning, a Twitter user took a photo at the 23rd Street subway station in Manhattan showing a platform without benches. To inquire about the lack of seats, he tagged the MTA’s official account next to the photo. About 20 minutes later, he received a response from @NYCTSubway, the account used by the MTA to facilitate customer support and announce changes to the metro.
“Hello, Jeremy,” came the reply of a person 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, gathering hundreds of replies and thousands of quote tweets, which are similar to replies, but allow Twitter users to share the original tweet on their timeline. Some called the policy ‘utterly bad“and”cruel, while others said the removal of benches would affect people with disabilities who rely on benches while waiting for trains to arrive at stations.
The MTA removed the tweet on Saturday afternoon.
In this now-deleted tweet, the MTA said it had removed benches from metro stations to “prevent homeless people from sleeping on them.” Screenshot via Twitter
In a statement to Insider, a spokesperson for the MTA said the tweet was a mistake.
The tweet was accidentally posted and has since been deleted. The subway is not a substitute for a shelter and homeless New Yorkers deserve much better care. We have worked with the city on this important issue and have more committed mental health and medical resources. that are urgently needed to solve the homeless crisis exacerbated by the pandemic. ”
“As someone with arthritis, it’s great to hear that I will now be in immense pain to prevent anyone else from suffering less,” a woman said in a tweet.
“I am disabled, so not having a place to sit really hurts me,” said another said.
Others said they were surprised that an MTA representative would be happy to admit such a policy.
‘You have to be new – you have to come up with a plausible excuse so that the agency doesn’t sound like it’s run by monsters,’ a person tweeted.
It’s not clear where, at how many locations, or when the MTA has removed seats from metro stations, and the agency declined to answer follow-up questions. Last year, according to a February 2020 report by Gothamist, the agency removed the backs of a dozen benches near the West 4th Street subway station to reduce the number of “people sleeping in that troubled station.”
As Gothamist noted, the MTA has drawn ire from advocates for people who are homeless in the past, as agency officials have in the past blamed the homeless for causing unsanitary conditions at stations, disrupting and causing train delays. .
Last year, lawyers also objected to New York City’s “Subway Diversion Program”, which was implemented in 2019 and defended by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Proponents said the program failed to address the root causes of homelessness and instead used police to criminalize homeless people. The program was quietly discontinued in July 2020, NY1 reported.
The MTA was also criticized for its decision last May to close metro stations from 1am and 5am, in an effort to disinfect stations to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The announcement was made by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who controls the MTA.
Cuomo’s office has not responded to 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, a New York based organization. focuses on “uncovered homelessness”. told Insider.
“Shifting people back and forth makes it infinitely more difficult for people to find permanent housing as it becomes nearly impossible for homeless outreach teams to keep in touch and help people through the city’s bureaucratic nightmare to find housing. to ask, ”said Dean.