One man sits at the top of a short escalator, surrounded by trash; he offers a running, often threatening commentary about the end times. If asked to move, he screams. Sometimes he just screams.
In the main plaza, a drug addict in tatters reels across the floor, accosting anyone who slows down — the New Jersey riders, the business travelers, the tourists.
They’re sleeping on the platforms. They’re blocking the steps. Sometimes they’re still wearing the blue grippy socks from the hospital that put them back on the streets.
Every so often, a homeless outreach group comes through Penn Station, offering shelter and assistance.
Because these men — and they are all men -— are mentally ill, or drug addicts, or both, they refuse. They are allowed to refuse. They’d rather be sprawled on the floor right here.
Most days, it’s just sad.
Sad that the busiest train station in the nation, in the greatest city in America, does nothing about this. That commuters must weave through this gauntlet every day. This is the first impression for visitors in town for a museum or a Broadway show.
But that sadness is tinged with fear. Fear that whatever fragile hold on reality one of these troubled souls has will break, and they will lash out.
That’s what happened Sunday night, when a mentally ill man pulled a knife and stabbed and slashed five people. The tragedy that homeless advocates claim never happens happened again.
How many stories have you read recently about the mentally ill pushing people onto subway tracks? Knifing strangers? Assaulting New Yorkers? This is an epidemic.
There is a solution to this, and it is the policy of European cities that progressives idolize: You force people into shelters.
In Copenhagen, it is illegal to sleep on the streets or panhandle. Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands — all prevent people from living rough in urban areas.
We can do the same here. It is not a matter of resources. The homeless services budget in New York City is an astounding $3.5 billion. We have a room for every single one of those homeless men living in Penn Station.
Sunday’s stabbing is the direct result of a failed policy of Democratic administrations that shockingly believe “compassion” is letting a mentally ill person make their own decisions. Better to be filthy, to be stoned, to be cold. Better to put the rest of us at risk.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is increasing the homeless budget to $4.2 billion, but this will only throw good money after bad if our approach to the mentally ill homeless does not change.
We demand a safe Penn Station. A safe Grand Central. A safe city.
Do not shrug at another tragedy. Do something!
This story originally appeared on NYPost
