A sprawling homeless encampment stretching roughly 12 blocks along Manhattans West Side is alarming people who live, work and visit nearby, with several telling Fox News Digital that the city is not doing enough to address the tents, trash and reported illegal activity.
“I think its embarrassing,” said Joan G., a woman who did not want to reveal her last name told Fox News Digital near the encampment.
A nearby construction-site security guard who identified himself only as “Joe the Dog Man” also criticized the citys response. “I just don’t think enough is being done,” he said.
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Mamdani initially paused encampment sweeps after taking office, fulfilling an early campaign promise, but later introduced a revised removal policy that gives homeless-services teams seven days to conduct outreach before an encampment can be dismantled.
“They gotta clean them up, they gotta keep on top of them,” Joe said. “This seven-day stuff, or whatever it is now, is really not working.”
City outreach workers visited the encampment this week and were seen primarily collecting trash while many tents remained in place.
Joe told Fox News Digital he believed that police should be given greater authority to enforce the citys rules.
“I think we need to enforce and give the police the right to do their job,” he said.
The encampments near the Intrepid Museum have drawn complaints about blocked sidewalks, trash and illegal activity.
“Its terrible,” Joe said. “Drugs, prostitution and everything else in between.”
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Some people at the encampment appeared to be drawing power from utility poles, prompting an NYPD response Tuesday.
“The NYPD has not been given the green light to clean this encampment up, but we are ready to do so,” an NYPD spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The New York Post reported that sex workers were bringing customers to tents and nearby bathrooms, citing interviews with people in the area. Fox News Digital has not independently verified that claim.
The encampment runs from 34th Street to 46th Street along 11th Avenue. The encampments proximity to the Intrepid Museum and Javits Center has also raised concerns about its effect on tourism.
Karen, a visitor from Belgium, said she was disappointed by what she viewed as the governments failure to support homeless people.
“It’s sad that they’re not getting the support they promised them,” Karen said. “I don’t know how it works here in America, but yeah, like when a politician promises to help people, they should help everyone.”
Mamdani made expanding housing assistance and changing the citys treatment of homeless New Yorkers central parts of his mayoral campaign. The socialist mayor promised to expand the citys housing voucher program but later appealed a court order requiring its expansion. His administration said the appeal was necessary to pursue an expansion that would be financially sustainable over the medium and long term.
“Shame on us. We have so much wealth in this city,” Joan said of the conditions and the citys failure to house people living on the street.
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