Three homeless people have set up a tent on the Broadway median at 86th Street, the NY Post reports.
Amber Wilson (33), Devonte Rose (28) and a third unknown homeless man are living in an orange tent pitched on the steel grating above the subway platform. They tell reporters that they’ve been in the area for about a month, previously living in boxes, and that the tent – now adorned with their own collection of flowers – was a recent gift from a passerby.
The trio indicated that neighbors have been welcoming overall.
According to the Post, Amber Wilson is from Maryland and Devonte Rose is from North Carolina. While the Post says she’s 33, an ABC7 report from March states that an Amber Wilson from Maryland (who in their article is 35) faced “charges of tampering with physical evidence” with connection to the murder of a teen in lower Manhattan. This article can be read here.
Interviews with Upper West Siders painted a picture of mixed feelings with regards to the pitched tent, which has also been the case with regards to homelessness and hotel shelters since May 2020.
A 77 year old resident of 86th Street said “It’s getting close to the 1970s,” while a 64 year old neighbor said he’d “rather see this, that they be protected, than sleeping on cardboard.”
Amber and Devonte say they’ve been given food and money by many who’ve passed their tenant, and that they’ve been treated especially well by MTA employees. One bus driver, they say, stopped in the middle of his route to give them $40, while another brought them food from McDonald’s.
UPDATE: The NY Post reported later on Wednesday that the tent was dismantled and removed by NYPD officers, following complaints from the neighborhood.
Highlights from across the park:
- Federal Agents Raid Rudy Giuliani’s Upper East Side Apartment and Office
- Bette Midler Sells Fifth Avenue Penthouse
- A Blue Sculpture of Big Bird is on the Met Rooftop
While I want them to find sustainable living conditions, this is a slippery slope. If anyone has been to California in recent years, you see tents all over cities like San Diego, San Francisco, etc. We need better options for those who need housing assistance, but not pitching tents on every block.
For sure. This is an awful commentary on the state of the society in which we live–that people should be living all over the streets, in subways, in tunnels, in vacant store entrances, etc. It is also essentially a privatization of public space. It should not be allowed.
I believe that housing is a human right. Taxes we pay should go to benefit the commonweal, which implies homes for those–who for whatever-reason– cannot secure shelter for themselves.
A great contributor to this societal breakdown is the state of care for the mentally ill. De–institutionalization, which may have been inspired by humanitarian impulse, has been a failure. None of the services that were supposed to follow were funded. The irony is that the money the city spends to house those without shelter in hotels is astronomical. A boon to landlords.
For even our own selfish interests, we must demand that politicians address this issue. It is destroying our quality of life here.
I’m in total agreement! Assisting and in turn encouraging people to live on the street is not an act of compassion! Certainly four star hotels are not a sustainable answer. Political contributions should be carefully scrutinized.
I’d happily chip in for bus tickets sending them back to Maryland and NC.
Count me in….
Get the tent removed ASAP!
It is illegal!
https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/trafrule.pdf
(12) No person shall engage in camping, or erect or maintain a tent, structure, shelter or camp.
100
True but remember this is the peoples republic of the upperwest side.
I can’t wait till we start to look like Portland, Seattle, San Francisco etc. Needles and feces’ to the right of me, needles and feces’ to the left of me coming soon to your block
Hit ALL the nails on the head!
Modern fake “progressives” getting their noses rubbed in their own mess.
Exactly.
I do have compassion, however it’s an eyesore to the area and will only encourage others.
Most people work very hard to live on the UWS and pay our bills!
Bless UWS-ders for their warm hearts.
But yes, this is a slippery slope.
Agree, send them home! Have they ever paid rent or worked in NYC? Why are they our responsibility? An eyesore for hard-working people and commuters who pass by each day.
So now it’s okay to block public medians? So now people from out-of-state or City should expect to be embraced, no strings attached, forever — or until the City is bankrupt and people with assets have left? Who is benefiting from this totally not- thought-through “everything goes” approach to social, economic, mental, and “freedom” problems? Sadly, I feel slightly embarrassed to say that I like civility and maintenance on City streets. I think those days are gone. You?
No one wants to visit NYC anymore. Hope the “progressives” are happy now.
Sadly they will multiply, guaranteed. Word gets around. Dittos to all above.
I don’t want tent cities to be popping up on the UWS, but the story of the bus driver sure did warm my heart.
Of course, someone could read this and offer them housing…
People don’t just choose to live in discomfort.
Somewhere here on the UWS, there must be a place they could stay safely…
Why would they need to live in the UWS? Does any one who decide to live in NYC or a particular neighborhood are now our financial and moral responsibility? They are from out of state and come to NYC because the giving is good.
We have enough homeless NYers to not have to deal with every homeless person in the US or the world.
Call 311. File a complaint. It’s illegal to block a sidewalk and pedestrian walkway, and establish an encampment.
311 is useless
Get rid of them or all our public space will be full of tents in 12 months. I actually contacted 311 about this but the case was closed because they claimed not to be able to find the tent! Please if you have time call 311 about this.
I would like to add here a link to a YouTube channel that provides a poignant look at the human beings who end up living on the streets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT3VGI0V5Rs&t=327s
You will find it moving and revelatory.
Well, I saw the tent, yesterday (Tuesday 4/27) and was much more disturbed the construction project “management” on the southwest corner of Broadway and 96th that thought it okay to block the north/south crosswalk with no allowance for pedestrians to cross West 96th except to walk in Broadway southbound.
Now, I didn’t visit the island at 86th street. So perhaps…
Two later developments in this story.
1. The police came and the tent was removed.
2. It turns out that this trio of homeless people may be murderers.
https://nypost.com/2021/04/28/homeless-woman-who-pitched-tent-in-uws-also-charged-in-teens-death/
She will be pitching her next tent at Bedford Hills
EXACTLY! That’s Just what we need – Read the article People!!!!
Given we have several abandoned island’s in NYC. Would it be so heartless to develop those islands as rehabilitation centers and move them there?