March 29, 2022 | BRONX, NY: New York City Mayor Eric Adams attended a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new Bronx shelter opening up to Homeless New Yorkers. The shelter that was awarded its contract in 2020 but hasn’t opened its doors until now will also provide an on-site medical facility for individuals staying at the shelter in need of medical assistance.
Adams mentioned that the housing crisis is an all New Yorkers issue and isn’t interested in “community backlash” when it comes to the addition of new shelters. Mayor Adams is attempting to clear most if not all homeless encampments within a 2-week time frame.
“I have to get the city up and operated. While I deal with the homeless crisis. I must deal with my economy that can’t create homelessness” -Mayor Adams
Mayor Adams was asked about his thoughts on attending a launch party for a Wells Fargo Credit Card at One Vanderbilt in Manhattan on Monday evening, and the look portrayed by attending an event for a credit card advertised to its holders as an option to pay rent with in the middle of a housing crisis.
“First of all, we need that level of accuracy. I was not just at the summit, I was at a Broadway opening. I also went to a few restaurants that I popped into, I walked the street. I was in the Subway System last night. You know my belief, If you’re going to hang out with the boys. You got to get up with the men, early this morning doing my job. I have to get the city up and operated. While I deal with the homeless crisis. I must deal with my economy that can’t create homelessness because we don’t have people back to work. We have the largest unemployment numbers.”
The mayor went on to say. “We lead in a nation, that’s that’s unacceptable for me. And nightlife Believe it or not, is a multi-billion dollar industry and when they see a mayor out, enjoying our city, it sends the right message and a right signal and I can multitask. This is the city of New York. I’m not drinking out of a garden hose from drinking out of a firehose and I can handle every drop of the water because I’ve made for this moment.”
A lone protester asked Mayor Adams “How does the Wells Fargo event help homeless people, the same day the encampment is raided?” Mayor Adams said to the inquiring woman “You gonna let me answer or are you gonna cut me off?” When the woman attempted to redirect the questions back to the encampment clearing, Mayor Adams walked away saying “You’re not gonna cut me off.”
We had a moment to speak with Shams Da Homeless hero outside of the new Bronx shelter on E 148th, across the street from Lincoln Hospital.
“It’s amazing. This is my neighborhood. This is where I’m from. I got deep roots here. And so to see that, what we, what I’ve been calling for and many advocates, for those of us who are really concerned about homelessness. We’ve been calling for safe haven and to see this in my neighborhood is is overwhelming to me. And so I applaud Mayor Adams, and all of those involved, Lincoln hospital which has a long history of doing for the community. I’m glad to see that we have a resource in the community that doesn’t just provide shelter, but also provide services on site that will enable people who experience homelessness like myself to actually get the help that they need to help stabilize them.”, Said Shams.
On Monday morning March 28th, city sanitation workers from the Department of Sanitation are accompanied by NYPD officers as they clear out the belongings of several homeless New Yorkers at Manhattan and Meeker Ave under the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in Brooklyn.
“I’m not going to have an inhumane city.” -Eric Adams
Mayor Eric Adams first spoke about this initiative in an interview with The New York Times on Friday, later elaborating further. Mayor called for encampments to be removed “withing two weeks”
“We’re going to dismantle those encampments give people wraparound services, voucher their goods of knowing supplies that are removed from them, but I’m not going to have an inhumane city that allows people to live in an inhumane dangerous environment.”, Adams said.
Mayor Adams has been vocal about his plans to have homeless encampments cleared out to relocate individuals to shelters. This comes with the recent addition of around 1,000 police officers in train stations across NYC.
“You are kicking us while we are already down”, said a houseless man
A man outside a homeless encampment that was being removed by city sanitation workers voiced his opinion to city workers as they removed peoples belongings, “You are kicking us while we are already down”, said the unidentified man.
“It’s a nightmare, I’ve been to numerous shelter systems, people bidding, like they are in prison, got people trying to claim stuff, be like ‘yo you can’t walk here”, said a homeless outside an encampment that was being removed.
This encampment under the BQE in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn was a temporary home to around 6 people.
Video by Karla Coté (FreedomNews.TV)
By FNTV Staff Writer Ken Lopez
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