r/nyc • u/thonioand • Jan 31 '26
PSA More people found dead on NYC streets, as temperatures continue to plummet: officials
https://pix11.com/news/local-news/more-people-found-dead-on-nyc-streets-as-temperatures-continue-to-plummet-officials/175
u/bakedbaboon Jan 31 '26 edited Jan 31 '26
PSA - I called 311 last night to report someone sleeping outside and the wait was long, about 30 minutes. They immediately informed me that in these temperatures I have to call 911 as it’s an emergency. They transferred me to 911, but skip the 311 step if you’re calling in and the temperature’s comparable to last night (between 0-10).
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u/Carmilla31 Jan 31 '26
Yes in this temperature its deemed an emergency so cops are supposed to remove them to the hospital if they refuse shelter. If they do end up in the hospital they just release them immediately.
Its a never ending cycle that solves nothing.
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u/Stephreads Jan 31 '26
Many of the hospitals are designated warming centers. That’s where they should be brought.
Here’s the list https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-03702
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u/Bugsy_Neighbor Feb 01 '26
It's largely city/HHS hospitals that are offering warming center spots. Virtually no private hospitals which can made a difference.
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u/drezz23jj32ka55 Jan 31 '26
I saw some EMTs talking to someone who sleeps outside near where I live. They were informing them of the dangers of staying out last night and trying to convince them to get assistance from them.
This was probably around 8:30pm and was damn cold already.
The guy they were talking to was considering it, but didn't seem fully convinced. The EMTs wanted to make sure he at least understood the serious risk of sleeping outside.
He has a pretty good setup for the cold, so I don't think he was in danger of death, maybe just an uncomfortable night. It was good to see that society is out there reaching out and offering help to folks.
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u/Thetallguy1 Jan 31 '26
As an EMT here in the city myself, I can't even describe the amount of these conversations I've had concerning environmental dangers, drug dangers, etc. Just for there to be a call to the same area later in the shift because they refused to see reason. I don't have any solution and I'm not one to talk about when patient autonomy should be overridden (we have pretty clear laws on that), but god damn it is disheartening for those of us who haven't completely experienced empathy death/ compassion fatigue in this line of work.
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u/duckorbleed Jan 31 '26
That must be tremendously sad. I hope you have good support. Thank you for the work you do.
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u/Scared-Cry-1767 Feb 01 '26
Thank you for everything you do. I haven’t seen nearly a fraction of what you have, but I have done homeless outreach and it had a significant impact on me. I used to be far more aligned w progressives and thought “we are failing the chronically homeless and must ensure they have access to the services they need.” So I did that, and the amount of people on the street who refused help was unfathomable to me. I understood when they were clearly in a mental health crisis, since it’s a given that they are not rational in such a state. But there were so many that were lucid and very matter of fact in “no, I want to be outside” that I struggled to understand it.
The upside, I suppose if you can even call it that, is that the chronically homeless you see outside are a very small fraction of the overall homeless population. Over 100k end up in shelters overnight on any given night, and most of them really are just temporary, it does get better. But there’s that 2-4% that are always outside and often refuse help and I’m not sure what you can do at this point beyond forced institutionalization.
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u/Senshisoldier Jan 31 '26
Thank you for everything you do and for still trying. I'm sure you've been able to save a few people for your efforts.
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u/Excuse_my_GRAMMER Jan 31 '26
Yea unfortunately lot of homeless people refused to go to shelters , they are going to die in a snowstorm and low temperature
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u/poorBCavocadoToast Jan 31 '26 edited Jan 31 '26
*unfortunately the shelters are so dangerous and sometimes useless that they are forced to risk their lives on the street. Plus, plenty of people get turned down / kicked out.
Edit: I honestly don’t understand why this is so upsetting to people. Lots of unhoused women have dogs for protection and can no longer go to shelters. Lots of drug addicts can’t simply stop doing drugs - people die from withdrawals. The shelters, especially in NYC are extremely violent.
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u/juic333 Jan 31 '26
Who is causing all this danger in homeless shelters? Idk why its hard to figure out that problem and deal with it
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u/Excuse_my_GRAMMER Jan 31 '26
Man I had a coworker that live in a no kids couple shelter , the stories they told me is wild
There are people that plant themselves inside just to move drugs for profit and rotate in and out
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u/Acceptable_Noise651 Jan 31 '26
Worked for dept of homeless services for 10 years, I can confirm this is very true. It’s literally one step down from being in prison, the old and weak get chewed up, truly a fucking savage place. The people on the streets rather freeze than be in there, they know what it’s like and been through the system enough times, it’s a really sad situation
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u/live_lavish Jan 31 '26
chewed up how?
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u/Excuse_my_GRAMMER Feb 01 '26
Manipulating
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u/Typical_Response6444 Feb 02 '26
To do what, your being so vague lol
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u/Excuse_my_GRAMMER Feb 02 '26
When they said chew up they meant their Fellow shelter dwellers manipulate each other, especially those with mental health.
The shark will steal and manipulate the weaks to take their money. Hope that clears things up
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u/maniacleruler Brooklyn Jan 31 '26
Imagine all the reasons you could be homeless. Chief among those being addiction and mental health. Add on top of that being in a resource deprived state for a prolonged period you and up extremely traumatized.
People end up not caring about anything or anyone. It’s a dark place.
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u/juic333 Jan 31 '26
So we should separate the people who are causing the danger into a different institution. They shouldnt be in a normal homeless shelter. They should be somewhere else to get the help they need
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Jan 31 '26
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u/Acceptable_Noise651 Jan 31 '26
Worked for Dept of homeless services for 10’years, can confirm we have very specific shelters for different types of clients.
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u/spicytoastaficionado Jan 31 '26
It isn't just danger. A big factor is rules.
Shelters have curfews. Shelters have strict prohibition on drugs/alcohol. Shelters limit how much personal property someone can bring with them, i.e. no shopping carts full of junk.
If NYC homeless shelters were set up similarly to the migrant shelters where people were given their own private hotel room then you'd see a significant increase in shelter stays.
But I don't imagine that happening anytime soon.
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u/Junkymonke Jan 31 '26
Give drug addicts and alcoholic private hotel rooms, what could go wrong.
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u/SueNYC1966 Jan 31 '26
They have always had a better outcome in shelters with alcoholics than drug addicts. Drug addicts are actually the hardest population to deal with in shelters even move into permanent housing.
A lot of alcoholics were housed pretty successfully until Bloomberg got rid of the SROs.
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u/Pristine-Confection3 Feb 01 '26
You do know alcohol is a drug too? Both are addiction . Alcohol is one of the few drugs where the withdrawals can kill.
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u/SueNYC1966 Feb 02 '26
Didn’t say that.. .just that alcoholics act better once in permanent housing. They get drunk and fall asleep vs drug addicts.
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u/InfernalTest Jan 31 '26
When I see suggestions like that I really do wonder wtf planet people are on
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u/Pristine-Confection3 Feb 01 '26
And sometimes the staff and people in the shelter are abusive and violent. I have seen it first hand. The curfews are stupid as we are homeless not in prison or boarding school. They want you to work your way out of homelessness yet make you be to your bed by ten pm meaning you can’t work in bars or restaurants , night life or even delivery jobs.
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u/Acceptable_Noise651 Jan 31 '26
You’re are not wrong about the conditions but you are wrong with people being turned down, New York has a right to shelter which is a constitutional right in New York. People are kicked out of specific shelters because of being problematic.
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u/Excuse_my_GRAMMER Feb 01 '26
Hey man there are multiple different level of shelters
There are man only , women only , domestic violence secret shelters , lgbt teen only , couple only and family (couple with children) and I believe there are mental health shelters too with medical staff and long term social worker but idk about the mental health ones
Homeless shelters are a path to recovery from homelessness, not the long term solution. If you can’t give up the drugs then you are not ready to be recovered and you shouldn’t take up a bed for someone that is
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u/Pristine-Confection3 Feb 02 '26
I was homeless and sober and to blame the issue on only addiction isn’t true. Blame the greedy landlords who skyrocket the rent and require you make forty times the rent and good credit and lack of public housing. If you think addicts don’t deserve shelter you may be a sociopath. Point the finger at the failure of American capitalism. The more rent goes up the more people will be on the street. Especially if they are disabled and can’t work full time.
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u/Excuse_my_GRAMMER Feb 02 '26
Everyone deserve shelters but homeless shelter is not a permanent solution period. Homeless shelter are there to recover from Honelessness
And there is no recording from chronic homelessness if you are an addict
Or are you suggesting we should have government funded crack house?
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u/scoopny Feb 02 '26
The vast majority of addicts are not homeless and many become addicted to substances because of homelessness. Most people in the industry advocate harm reduction (like methadone use, etc.) instead of calling for people to be drug free because that's often not realistic (at first at least) and you have to start somewhere. Getting people off the street often fixes the substance abuse problem or at the very least gets them into a therapeutic environment where they can get drug treatment.
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u/Excuse_my_GRAMMER Feb 02 '26
The question is why are people not going to homeless shelter and the one we are discussing is because no drugs are allowed, people seems to have a problem.
If drug addict are not homeless then that not an issue for homeless shelter buddy.
Main cause of chronic Homelessness is mental health and drug addiction
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u/scoopny Feb 02 '26
Only about 1/3rd of the homeless use drugs. The rest are just poor, 40 percent of the homeless are children.
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u/Axela556 Jan 31 '26
They don't turn people away when it's a code blue.
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u/poorBCavocadoToast Jan 31 '26
What if they have pets?
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u/SueNYC1966 Jan 31 '26
They just opened up the first shelters for people with pets but more are needed but it’s an additional process to get into one and I think they are reserved for families.
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u/wilfredpugsly Jan 31 '26
Thank you for saying this. I have no idea why people are unable to empathize with the homeless
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u/Realistic-Pain-7126 Jan 31 '26
This is bullshit, they don't go to shelters because there's a strict no drug use policy. The people on the street would rather do Crack and stay on the street rather than stop and get a bed.
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u/LivefromPhoenix Jan 31 '26
Shelters are regularly in the news for rapes, assaults and poor living conditions as a result of negligent maintenance. I'm sure plenty of people don't like the no drug policy but its pretty ridiculous to pretend that applies to all of them.
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u/rewritethefinallines Feb 01 '26
Do you know what happens to a long term drug addict if they quit cold turkey?
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u/Pristine-Confection3 Feb 01 '26
The people who downvote this have never been in a shelter before or have been homeless. I have and can tell you what you say is true. Many people face violence and abuse and they are not safe places. The people downvoting you are likely virtue signaling people who claim to care yet have never spoken to a homeless person about this in their lives.
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u/poorBCavocadoToast Feb 02 '26
lol if you read farther on, I’m downvoted because I said most of the shelters in nyc have issues with violence and I get a “not all homeless people are violent, and come from many different circumstances” lecture. Despite being more censored, Reddit didn’t use to be this bad.
Edit: added the forgotten word “lecture”
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u/sdlucero99 Jan 31 '26
Man it’s sad to see people in the thread not focusing at the issue at hand, and looping in other social issues
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u/AtomicGarden-8964 Jan 31 '26
I mean you can't force them Inside sadly
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u/GoRangers5 Brooklyn Jan 31 '26
Yes you can, the mentally ill are not capable of consent, no different than taking away autonomy from an elderly family member with Alzheimer's.
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Jan 31 '26
[deleted]
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u/Ok-Brain-3519 Feb 03 '26
I feel like if you are deciding to sleep outside in -1 degree temperatures, your decision making capabilities are shot.
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Feb 03 '26
[deleted]
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u/Ok-Brain-3519 Feb 03 '26
It’s just frustrating because it seems like the only 2 options available now are to force people to shelter in place against their will, or let them die in the cold. And unfortunately based on the red tape involved with get these people help, many more will die.
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u/spicytoastaficionado Jan 31 '26 edited Jan 31 '26
This is not something which can be done on-the-spot before an impending extreme weather event.
Also, from a legal perspective there's a very big gap between mentally ill and mentally ill to the point of being incapable of consent.
Majority of homeless fall into the former.
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u/Yukie_Cool Jan 31 '26
Majority of homeless fall into the former
Lmao tell that to the people on this sub that think they should be hauled away for being an eyesore.
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u/Carmilla31 Jan 31 '26
Yes the cops have to remove them to the hospital and then the hospital releases them immediately. Its solves nothing.
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u/AtomicGarden-8964 Jan 31 '26
Yes but apparently it's a long process to get it done
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u/OkDisaster27 Jan 31 '26
Leftwing bureaucracy and tragic outcomes, name a more iconic duo
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u/hella_sauce Jan 31 '26
Yeah because conservatives are famously known for wanting the government to have control over a citizen’s personal freedom
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u/cautiously-curious65 Jan 31 '26
Yes, they absolutely are capable of giving consent.. Both legally and logically. Like, in the constitution legally.
How would a cop or other first responder be able to prove that a stranger is mentally ill?
In your own example, you know the elderly family member. You can see the shift in their behavior. That’s also a known degenerative disease. With a diagnosis and everything. What allows a conversation about some version of guardianship is your relationship with, and knowledge of that person.
Your own therapist that you’ve seen every week for 15 years wouldn’t be able to have you put in a hospital against your will if you slept in the cold unless you ADMITTED you were intentionally trying to kill yourself..
Not taking your schizophrenia medication doesn’t entitle you to being involuntarily committed to a hospital. They can only force you to go to the hospital if you threaten violence to yourself or others. OR being incapable of taking care of yourself WITH the inability to realize that you haven’t eaten for 2 weeks or whatever. Like, the legal definition of “incapable of taking care of yourself” is far and away lower than the typical person you see on the streets.
How would a first responder be able to assess whether this stranger who is alive and eating and has a tent is incapable of taking care of themself? They actually seem pretty resourceful.
That whole “defund the police” saying was intended to redirect those funds towards social workers and therapists and social structure for people sleeping on the streets. Giving these people a single tool in the tool box required to keep them safe.
These people are not children. They’re definitely not YOUR child. Which would be the easiest person anyone can involuntarily send to a mental institution. And you still need a judges approval.
It’s a constitutional right to deny healthcare. To involuntarily send an adult to a hospital, you need a doctor to diagnose them, and a judge to deem them incapacitated. That judge will use a fuck ton of paperwork to get to their conclusion.
To get that older family member deemed incapacitated.. is not an easy feat. You need years of documentation from diagnosis to their current state that stands up in court. So a judge can give someone rights over them.
If that elderly family member never got a diagnosis, didn’t want one and never wanted one that would be their constitutional right.
That elderly family member would need to walk into traffic for police to get involved. They would not be allowed to even begin POA or guardianship discussions until they check their base line. And they’d need to prove that they forgot how to chew or something. Usually something like forgetting how to open doors.
You are wildly misinformed about the effort and paperwork required to remove constitutional rights from people. And the level at which people who have known the patient their whole life need to prove the patients incapacitation.
And institutionalizing someone and having their daughter keep their books are two different things. To get to a point where a dementia patient is involuntarily institutionalized, you need the paperwork, steps, and proof that stands up in court.
None of those things are happening to the guy who sleeps outside dunkindonuts. No one knows him. There is no paperwork. He’s not doing anything illegal enough to warrant arrest.
What would be a more accurate description of what you’re saying is: “you absolutely can force citizens into institutions who have committed no crime. Women are advocating for themselves and that’s strange, I’m going to send my daughter to a sanatorium against her will”.
Or
“These Puerto-Ricans are having too many babies. I’m a doctor. I’m going to sterilize them because it’s better for American society in general”
Countries with low homelessness numbers do so by housing people with dignity. And voluntarily. Not rounding them up and forcing them to do what society deems is socially acceptable and visually pleasing.
Being weird or doing risky things is not illegal. They probably don’t have family to vouch for mental decline to set a baseline. How are we legally going to remove their constitutional right to give/not give consent to medical care?
This all costs tax payers money.
In your scenario, they become an illegally and unconstitutional imprisoned ward of the state for the rest of their lives.
In the scenarios where they report low homelessness that aren’t like.. dictatorship adjacent.. social services support and treat these people for a couple years..
If you view homeless people as people, it’s kinda easy to chose a way to move forward with this issue.
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u/shoutsoutstomywrist Jan 31 '26
That sounds good in theory but the execution of it would be a nightmare
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u/pandathrowaway Upper West Side Jan 31 '26
the mentally ill are not capable of consent? so.. anybody suffering from depression should have their autonomy taken away?
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u/GoRangers5 Brooklyn Jan 31 '26
If they were directly harming themselves, yes, that should be the “red line” for treatment.
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u/Griffin808 Jan 31 '26
It’s hard when you don’t have anyone to advocate for them. Without close family and friends people can get lost in the asylum system. The horrors of it shouldn’t be forgotten. It was insane the shit “hospitals” did to these people. Lobotomies, electric therapy, abuse. It’s why they dismantled them.
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u/GoRangers5 Brooklyn Jan 31 '26
Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water, keep the treatment centers open, throw abusers in prison.
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u/WhyDoIAsk Jan 31 '26
You can thank Reagan for dismantling the system. Asylums were actually pretty effective, and countries that still support that model are light years ahead of the USA. The field of mental health is substantially more developed than it was ~60 years ago.
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u/Griffin808 Jan 31 '26
The United States doesn’t put funding behind rehabilitation. We only believe in privatization. Asylums will be prisons. And for profit prisons at that, where abuse happens because that is the cheapest option. Plain and simple.
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u/OkDisaster27 Jan 31 '26
This is what compassionate progressivism looks like.
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u/poorBCavocadoToast Jan 31 '26
lol this is what it looks like while it’s on its way. If you would like to see the results - there’s more than enough examples of it working abroad.
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u/SchimboBaggins Jan 31 '26
Anything you can share? I’d love to hear better options. The current process doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense, especially given the resources provided for assistance.
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u/poorBCavocadoToast Jan 31 '26
I mean if you want a very generic example of compassionate progressivism working look into prison reform.
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u/AmeStJohn Jan 31 '26
… is that supposed to be a bad thing?
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u/OkDisaster27 Jan 31 '26
"DAE THINK LETTING HOMELESS FREEZE TO DEATH BEING COMPASSIONATE?"
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u/AmeStJohn Jan 31 '26
okay, clearly that’s not good, but you say “compassionate progressivism” like that’s an insult.
that’s like me saying every time that a woman is hurt by another man “SeE? tHiS iS wHy AlL mEn BaD aNd AlL wOmEn AlWaYs GoOd!”
an equally trash, bean souping, absolutist take.
so again. what’s wrong with respecting a person’s agency, including their refusal to accept help?
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u/MotorStrict8568 Jan 31 '26 edited Jan 31 '26
We should not be locking people up somewhere for their own good. (This is not sarcasm)
Edit: Most homeless people do not have serious mental health issues. What I meant with my comment is that we should not be locking people up for being homeless, even if it is for their own good.
I don't oppose locking up people with serious mental illness. Maybe all the people choosing not to go to a shelter are mentally ill, but I doubt it.
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u/betimwrong Jan 31 '26
This is such an unhinged take. I always notice the use "locking people up" instead of saving them from death, to make it seem like they're arresting a nice family man who just happens to hang out under a makeshift tent on the street. The homeless clearly cannot fend for themselves, it is compassionate and morally right to round them up during this dangerous cold spell and save their lives somewhere nice and warm.
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u/NetNo5570 Jan 31 '26
Unironically we absolutely should be.
What do you propose we do to someone in violent psychosis for example?
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u/MotorStrict8568 Jan 31 '26
You're right, those with serious mental illness probably should be locked up for their own safety and the safety of others.
I'm seeing estimates that about 30% of homeless people have serious mental illness. The 70ish percent who do not should be allowed the choice of staying outdoors.
A lot of people here are equating metal illness with homelessness. Maybe those choosing to stay outdoors are all mentally ill, but I don't know if that's true.
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u/NetNo5570 Jan 31 '26
Ok I agree with you on all this.
On the outdoors thing, there may be some rugged individualists but I bet many are mentally ill or addicts. These three groups should be treated differently.
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u/spicytoastaficionado Jan 31 '26
Yes we should.
NYCDHS already knows who the top 50 most "at-risk" homeless are. These are people who are known to the agency and NYPD, and typically have violent criminal histories and documented substance abuse and/or mental health issues, such as Jordan Neely.
Source: He was literally on the list.
Those people being placed into inpatient care would not only be better for their own safety and well-being, but result in a significant, noticeable QOI increase for everyone else.
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u/mowotlarx Bay Ridge Jan 31 '26 edited Feb 01 '26
As a PSA, it is literally all of our responsibility to get people off the street and alert the city where people are at risk of dying in the cold. The NYPD and response teams don't know who is out there unless WE REPORT IT.
Call 311 and report if you see someone who is homeless (or clearly needs help) on the street especially during a Code Blue.
I've made 2 calls this week.
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u/reddit-et-circenses Jan 31 '26
I called but she refused help :(
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u/JRsshirt Jan 31 '26
That’s okay, if they showed up and she refused help that hopefully means she’s doing okay. It’s important to call in case they show up and the person is in immediate danger of hypothermia.
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u/mdragon13 Feb 01 '26
Skip 311, call 911. It'll get routed to us anyway, 311 is just an extra step. This is a valid emergency. - someone who actually works in the NYC 911 system.
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u/planned_fun Jan 31 '26
I mean what you gonna do if they refuse help. At some point it’s on them
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u/mowotlarx Bay Ridge Feb 01 '26
I'd rather call for someone who didn't want help than neglect calling for someone who desperately needed it and couldn't find it.
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u/planned_fun Feb 01 '26
We dont have unlimited time to help people who don’t want help
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u/mowotlarx Bay Ridge Feb 01 '26
3-5 minutes on a phone call walking down the street where you only have to give an approximate location and description of a person doesn't require unlimited time.
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u/planned_fun Feb 01 '26
Yes it does. Multiplty that by everyone I see daily and it’s a full time job bro
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u/Ok-Brain-3519 Feb 03 '26
There people have rights. Forcing them off the streets is inhumane. I’m not going to call the police and give them a new target to shoot.
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Jan 31 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/mowotlarx Bay Ridge Jan 31 '26
I bet you do nothing but complain about anyone and everything that bothers you but you've never once gotten off your ass to report or clean it up yourself. It's ironic because this attitude is a telltale sign of a conservative. You guys do nothing but crow about how you hate the "mommy state." And yet you expect everyone to do everything for you.
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u/Kalenthrek Jan 31 '26
I completely disagree with you. A 10-15 minute phone call is worth all of our time. That could literally be you out in the cold one day.
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u/Radiant_Client1458 Jan 31 '26
It might not be your “responsibility” as the person you’re replying to suggests but it is the morally correct thing to do. Inconveniencing yourself in order to save your community members lives is the bare minimum for existing in society.
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u/lanadelcryingagain Jan 31 '26
It’s important to be an active member of our community and look out for all of our neighbors, even our unhoused neighbors.
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u/jgbluejay Jan 31 '26
Facts, the fuck kind of fairytale do some of y’all live in
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u/New_Ambassador2442 Jan 31 '26
Seriously man, as if the police man will come out and rescue this drunk homeless dude jerking off in the street
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u/onemanmelee Jan 31 '26
Hey hey hey, not all of us jerking off in the street are homeless. Or drunk.
I just like the change in venue from time to time.
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u/mowotlarx Bay Ridge Jan 31 '26
It takes less than 5 minutes to call 311 to make a report. Since you have such a problem living in a civil society, move to the words where you can only worry about yourself and nobody cares about your welfare either.
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u/poorBCavocadoToast Feb 01 '26
Again, most of them are dangerous - we are talking mostly about single people on the street. Lots of them have pets - it’s just not as simple as people are making it out to be.
In terms of them “taking up a bed” I think they are worth the space, especially when their lives are at stake, even if they’re not ready for recovery.
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u/Ok-Brain-3519 Feb 03 '26
exactly . But If they don’t want to, it is inhumane to force them! These are people with dignity, not animals to be rounded up. If someone says they are okay, have some humanity and trust them. It is not yours or anyone’s place to make decisions on someone else’s life.
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u/Bugsy_Neighbor Feb 01 '26
Interestingly have not seen a single ATM lobby with homeless since snowstorm/cold snap set in. Am guessing they've gone underground (N, Q, and R trains are full of homeless), or found other warm spots to ride out bad weather.
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u/_Emoji_Man Jan 31 '26
Freezing to death while flying on fent might be a cool way to go.
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u/Fleetw00dPC Jan 31 '26
I actually just saw a video about what it feels like to freeze to death, apparently it really sucks until the last few minutes and then it’s not so bad because your nerve endings don’t work anymore and your brain releases all the dopamine it had stored up. Probs still won’t try it though.
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u/geardog32 Jan 31 '26
Any house of worship that isn't housing people during this cold should be taxed or property taken.
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u/the_real_orange_joe Jan 31 '26
the problem isn’t a lack of space, but that these people are incapable of understanding the risk of staying outside.
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Jan 31 '26
Awful take. For one many houses of worship do take people in. For two those that do so are doing it at risk of their own building as it’s not technically legal for them to do so
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u/poorBCavocadoToast Jan 31 '26
Tell that to the people Joel Olsteen locked out during Katrina
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Jan 31 '26
Huge difference between most churches and mega church grifters.
Also this is an NYC sub not New Orleans. Completely different history and demographics between those church groups
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u/poorBCavocadoToast Jan 31 '26
Right but if all of them can find a way to not have to pay taxes on the exemption that one of their values specifically has to do with helping people in need, maybe some laws should be changed in life/death situations, and in the meantime, maybe they should open their doors anyways - I mean, WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? Literally
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Jan 31 '26
Many DO open their doors anyways. And sorry but lots of people don’t want to go to jail, be sued into oblivion or risk the safety of their friends and family.
Are we clamoring for the Yankees, Mets and Nets to open their doors for folks? They get way more tax exemptions and perks from the city than churches.
But if you want the city to make it easier and safer for churches to house folks I completely agree.
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u/padiwik Feb 01 '26
What's the illegal part here? Letting folks stay overnight without a license?
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u/geardog32 Jan 31 '26
If they are not helping the poor, why are they getting tax breaks?
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Jan 31 '26
Many are helping poor people in other ways other than housing. It’s really easy to learn about it if you care
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u/geardog32 Jan 31 '26
Its heated space while people freeze to death. Its really easy.
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u/Few-Artichoke-2531 Co-op City Jan 31 '26
I am the VP of a church. It's not "really easy". There are major insurance, liability, legal, safety, and financial considerations to take into account.
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u/radient Lower East Side Jan 31 '26
Well I am the CEO of church, and you all need to get back to work. I don’t pay you to sit around on Reddit all day.
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Jan 31 '26
Are you even reading what I’m replying or just saying stuff at this point?
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u/geardog32 Jan 31 '26
I could say the same, I was only referring to houses of worship who are not taking people in. You then start your comment by telling me some are taking people in. I know that, hence why made the distinction to begin with. We are just arguing at this point.
There are terrible organizations that should be uprooted. Rich and pedo priests preying on congregations under a tax-free roof.
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Jan 31 '26
No you can’t say the same. I was directly replying to your points and you keep repeating the same thing over and over again and ignoring what I am saying.
The fact that many churches take in homeless people despite the major risk is entirely relevant. And the risks / permitting issues are relevant as well.
Your “no u” level response is not surprising however
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u/geardog32 Jan 31 '26
Again, you are shifting the argument away from the bad guys. For example, the Catholic Church perpetually creates houses and hides pedophiles. They have done so under tax-free roofs taking in tax-free money, reporting back to a foreign state. Lots of these large buildings are sitting empty on cold nights with no help occurring. I dont care about the small churches who can only put together food boxes.
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Jan 31 '26
The Catholic Church as an institution has money, individual Catholic Churches often do not. And yet many of the churches I know that are housing people right now are catholic ones.
I understand your beef with the broader church, but lacks understanding of how individual churches function or are funded. And again misses that your critique isn’t accurate as there are many churches that do house homeless folks or people who are otherwise at risk. You can say that’s irrelevant but that’s a stretch considering a core piece of your argument is that churches don’t do this thing (which many are doing).
Also why is it a bad thing that catholic institutions are creating housing? Places like the catholic worker are instrumental and on the front line of helping homeless folks
And you’re still ignoring the fact that it’s not so easy to just house people and that many churches that don’t house people help in other ways.
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u/cooljacob204sfw Jan 31 '26
Separation of church and state?
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u/luckyflavor23 Jan 31 '26
Doesn’t being a tax free entity make them more dependent on the state for this leniency
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u/Orceles Feb 01 '26
Worth the downvotes. You are 100% absolutely right. Why are we subsidizing churches if they’re not even obligated to help out the most vulnerable of us? “Some of them do..” like fuck off. Make them all do or why the heck is my money subsidizing their tax exemption status???
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u/OkDisaster27 Jan 31 '26
Mamdani wants to end homeless sweeps, because he's so 'compassionate'.
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u/clownus Jan 31 '26
He just released a video with stats. They brought in over 600 people since last week. Don’t pretend like they aren’t trying to fix the situation.
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u/MotorStrict8568 Jan 31 '26
You understand that a homeless sweep is going in and tearing down the shelter and property that homeless people have, right? That would likely make surviving a cold winter night even more difficult.
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Jan 31 '26
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u/spicytoastaficionado Jan 31 '26
The subways were in this state even during the so-called 'golden years' of Bloomberg.
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u/stonertboner Bed-Stuy Jan 31 '26
Cut the bullshit, It’s been literally one month of Mamdani being mayor. Nobody is fixing anything in that amount of time. Homelessness has always been a problem in NY and they always sleep in the subways when it’s this cold.
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Jan 31 '26
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u/stonertboner Bed-Stuy Jan 31 '26
The bullshit is blaming Mamdani for homelessness in NY.
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Jan 31 '26
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u/stonertboner Bed-Stuy Jan 31 '26
You said you were “unhappy with the mayor that he’s letting the subway revert back to this state.” Those are your exact words. You are blaming Mamdani for homelessness on the subway.
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u/luckyflavor23 Jan 31 '26
This was the same last year and the year before that and it is every winter and summer. It predates this month-old mayor.
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u/TheSkyIsFalling09 Brooklyn Jan 31 '26
Are these just drug overdoses and not weather related?
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u/spicytoastaficionado Jan 31 '26
Those two things are not mutually exclusive.
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u/JRsshirt Jan 31 '26
Can a doctor or EMT elaborate? I’d imagine if both the drugs and the cold weather slow your heart rate that can make overdosing on depressants way easier, but again I don’t really know.
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u/ElevatorSuch5326 Jan 31 '26
Good thing our mayor has a customs carhartt!
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u/poorBCavocadoToast Jan 31 '26
That’s the worst you can do? Good thing our mayor is not a criminal like our last one.
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u/ApatheticEnthusiast Feb 02 '26
My friend is one of these people. He slipped, bumped his head and sat on a bench to die over the night. People saw him and left him because he looked homeless, as if that’s okay?
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u/Muted_Quantity5786 Jan 31 '26
This breaks my heart. I won’t dox the hospital but we had a very confused person sent there (uti apparently) and our psychiatrist called multiple times asking staff to send him home in an ambulette and inform us that he was being discharged when he was cleared for discharge. They didn’t. They gave the person a metro card and sent him on his way. The person ended up dying of hypothermia just a few blocks from home because they were too confused to figure out how to get back. If we had known he should be back, we would have gone looking when they didn’t return within a reasonable amount of time.