The Bellevue Menâs Shelter in NYC has been exposed hours after Mayor Bill de Blasio bragged about his officeâs ability to get the homeless off the streets and into shelters.
It’s being reported that the shelter is full of mask-less men curling up in close proximity on a staircase or on the floor inches from others during a global pandemic. The shelter is overcrowded and men are sleeping on makeshift cardboard beds.
âTheyâre forcing these guys off the train to go here and staff at the single menâs intake is overrun and these guys wonât get a bed in a lot of cases so theyâre forced to sleep on the stairs and such, which causes tension and unrest from being so close,â fumed a Department of Homeless Services police officer.
âAs you can see, this is not social distancing.â
The officer added the homeless are being threatened with âhandcuffsâ or the âpsych wardâ by the NYPD if they donât immediately comply and agree to go to a shelter.
The conditions are now under investigation by the mayorâs office with spokesman Avery Cohen calling the situation âabsolutely unacceptable.â
The Bellevue shelter is the initial intake center for homeless male adults seeking a place to sleep.
âEven during our coldest months of winter, the shelters donât look like this,â an anonymous officer told The Post.
âThe beds that are extra at the menâs intake are reserved for overages for other shelters. Even a shelter thatâs supposed to house 200 men can have on some days 10 to up to 25 [more than that].â
Do you think the mayor is handling the homeless situation in NYC correctly?