Shocking footage shows dozens of homeless men forced to sleep on the floor of a shelter that 'ran out of beds' after they were kicked off New York City subway trains last month (11 Pics)
Shocking footage shows dozens of homeless men sleeping on the floor of a shelter after it 'ran out of beds' amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The video, which was sent to DailyMail.com, was taken inside the Bellevue Men's Shelter in Manhattan this week.
According to the tipster, the all men's shelter has become even more crowded than usual since city officials closed the subway system at night.
'There are no beds,' the source told DailyMail.com, adding that the shelter is short staffed due with only five people compared to its normal 15.
The source said 'people are calling out' because they are afraid of contracting the virus.
Shocking footage shows dozens of homeless men (pictured) sleeping on the floor of a shelter after it 'ran out of beds' amid the coronavirus pandemic
The video, which was sent to DailyMail.com, was taken inside the Bellevue Men's Shelter in Manhattan this week. Some of the men are seen sitting in blue chairs next to large bags of their belongings
In the footage, some of the men are seen wrapped up in what appears to be blankets on the floor
In the footage, some of the men are seen wrapped up in what appears to be blankets on the floor.
Others are seen sitting in blue chairs next to large bags of their belongings. Some are seen with no covering at all as they tried to sleep on steps, chairs and the floor.
None of the men appeared to be wearing masks as they curled up next to one another.
The footage comes just days after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that outreach workers had 'engaged' about 362 people leaving stations over the weekend.
He said on Tuesday that 211 people accepted help and of that number 178 went to shelters, with the rest going to hospitals.
'Every single night we're seeing the same things, high level of engagement, large number of homeless individuals being engaged, the majority accepting help,' de Blasio said Tuesday.
'If the first week is any indication this is a game changer. I think it could fundamentally change the future of homelessness in the city for the better.'
But it appears that homeless people are going from sleeping on train cars to shivering on the floors of crowded shelters.
The footage comes just days after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that outreach workers had 'engaged' about 362 people leaving stations over the weekend
Just last week, New York subway's overnight service was suspended for the first time ever in an 'aggressive' bid to deep clean the system every 24 hours, as police removed thousands of homeless people from trains
Since the pandemic hit ridership has plummeted by more than 90 per cent, with less than 50,000 passengers a day while many homeless New Yorkers count on the trains for shelter overnight
NYPD officers wake up sleeping passengers and direct them to the exits at the 207th Street A-train station on April 30
Officers are seen waking up a passenger who was sleeping on one of the trains on April 30
Last month, officers from the New York City Police Department were seen ordering homeless people off the subways after officials pledged to take action against them sleeping on empty trains during the pandemic.
Photos showed officers wearing masks and gloves as they woke up individuals who were laying down or sleeping in the train cars.
Other images showed the people gathering their belongings as they walked off a train at the 207th Street A train station in Manhattan.
New York City became the epicenter for the coronavirus outbreak in the US on March 20.
The pandemic has forced government officials to suspended New York subway's overnight service was suspended for the first time ever.
Last week, service was suspended between 1am and 5am in an 'aggressive' bid to deep clean the system every 24 hours, as police removed thousands of homeless people from trains.
The subway has effectively run around the clock since it opened in 1904.
But from May 6, all 472 stations were closed overnight while 500 cleaners in hazmat suits surge through the system and decontaminate the subway and halt the spread of coronavirus among riders.
Since the pandemic hit the city, ridership has plummeted by more than 90 per cent, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which manages the network, to less than 500,000 passengers a day
Normally some 5.5 million people take the subway every day.
With many white-collar workers logging into the office from home, most riders are now 'essential' workers - some 800,000 employees of hospitals, supermarkets, repair personnel and delivery workers, many of them black or Latino, some undocumented migrants.
The city hopes closure will encourage them to find alternative shelter, but many advocacy groups have warned it will worsen the homeless crisis.
Last month, Gov Andrew Cuomo was forced to extend stay-at-home orders to May 15 in a state that has recorded 348,790 coronavirus cases and 27, 251 deaths.
Within the past few weeks, photos and video showing the homeless seeking shelter in the Big Apple's underground transit system have circulated widely on social media, sparking outrage.
At the time, Cuomo said: 'The cars were filthy, they were disgusting, homeless people were there with all their belongings,' said Cuomo, lamenting a 'deterioration' in the conditions of the network.
Cuomo said it was not safe for the homeless people on the trains to be there without protective equipment, nor was it fair to the essential workers who rely on the trains to get to work.
'Any essential worker who shows up and gets on a train should know that that train was disinfected the night before.
'The trains have to be clean,' Cuomo said at the time, adding that the homeless should also be able to get the services that they need.
Shocking footage shows dozens of homeless men forced to sleep on the floor of a shelter that 'ran out of beds' after they were kicked off New York City subway trains last month (11 Pics)
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May 15, 2020
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