This is like an article from “the Onion”. You just can’t make up a story that would be too absurd to be real anymore. Our country has become one big joke.
Bums across the city hailed Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday for relaxing enforcement against homeless panhandlers, saying it hasn’t been this good for them in years.
“I want to thank de Blasio for taking it easy on us. It’s easier for me to get by. Because of him, nobody bothers me,” said Phil Zasel, 63, who was hanging out near Bellevue Hospital with several sacks of belongings.
“It’s better out here now. It’s the best time to be homeless. The weather is nice. I feel like I’m in California. So I’d rather be out here until it gets cold.”
“It’s not like 10 or 20 years ago, when I would get harassed by police all the time,” Zasel added.
“People just leave me alone, and I get some money sometimes, too.”
A similar sentiment was expressed by a filthy, toothless vagrant begging for change outside the Metro-North train station at 125th Street in Harlem.
The man, who identified himself as “Brown,” age 50, said he is much happier with de Blasio as mayor.
“Things have improved,” he said. “Cops are nicer. They let us be more.”
Directly under the tracks nearby, about two dozen other homeless people were sleeping in or stumbling around an encampment littered with layers of cardboard, a stained futon and rotting food remnants.
The gross spectacle outraged local residents and commuters at the station.
“This is disgusting. There’s no excuse for this. I’ve lived in Harlem all my life, and I’m sick and tired of this,” said Calvin Hunt, 53, a community activist who was handing out fliers against synthetic marijuana.
A 45-year-old Westchester man who rides the rails to his job as a social worker said his wife no longer feels safe near the station.
“What kills me is that I pay $225 a month to take the train. It’s a beautiful ride here, but when I get off, it’s just depressing” he said.
Another commuter from Connecticut who has been using the station for 30 years laid the blame directly “at the foot of de Blasio.”
“I think the problems come from the top. [Ex-Mayor Rudy] Giuliani wouldn’t tolerate this,” said the man, who identified himself as Keith W., 58.
Speaking about street people Monday, de Blasio said, “Any individual who breaks the law will be penalized.”
“It could be an arrest. It could be a summons. It could be other activity,” he said.
Additional reporting by Michael Gartland
“I want to thank de Blasio for taking it easy on us. It’s easier for me to get by. Because of him, nobody bothers me,” said Phil Zasel, 63, who was hanging out near Bellevue Hospital with several sacks of belongings.
“It’s better out here now. It’s the best time to be homeless. The weather is nice. I feel like I’m in California. So I’d rather be out here until it gets cold.”
“It’s not like 10 or 20 years ago, when I would get harassed by police all the time,” Zasel added.
“People just leave me alone, and I get some money sometimes, too.”
A similar sentiment was expressed by a filthy, toothless vagrant begging for change outside the Metro-North train station at 125th Street in Harlem.
The man, who identified himself as “Brown,” age 50, said he is much happier with de Blasio as mayor.
“Things have improved,” he said. “Cops are nicer. They let us be more.”
Directly under the tracks nearby, about two dozen other homeless people were sleeping in or stumbling around an encampment littered with layers of cardboard, a stained futon and rotting food remnants.
The gross spectacle outraged local residents and commuters at the station.
“This is disgusting. There’s no excuse for this. I’ve lived in Harlem all my life, and I’m sick and tired of this,” said Calvin Hunt, 53, a community activist who was handing out fliers against synthetic marijuana.
A 45-year-old Westchester man who rides the rails to his job as a social worker said his wife no longer feels safe near the station.
“What kills me is that I pay $225 a month to take the train. It’s a beautiful ride here, but when I get off, it’s just depressing” he said.
Another commuter from Connecticut who has been using the station for 30 years laid the blame directly “at the foot of de Blasio.”
“I think the problems come from the top. [Ex-Mayor Rudy] Giuliani wouldn’t tolerate this,” said the man, who identified himself as Keith W., 58.
Speaking about street people Monday, de Blasio said, “Any individual who breaks the law will be penalized.”
“It could be an arrest. It could be a summons. It could be other activity,” he said.
Additional reporting by Michael Gartland
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