As NYC Subway Deteriorates, 311 Expanded in Attempt to Address Issues

The NYC Subway, operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has gone from bad to downright horrible over the Covid-19 pandemic. While it was common to see homeless people and panhandlers on the trains, the pause in service, the halt to overnight service, and a sharp decrease in commuters, have made the Subway unsafe and swarming with homeless people who’ve camped out there.

 To this end, Mayor De Blaiso, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Information Technology (DoITT), and the MTA announced the expansion of the NYC311 system to address issues of homeless people in the subway—for their sake, as well as for the sake of getting New Yorkers to return to the subways.

 According to the statement from the aforementioned parties, various organizations have been expanded, and brought on board, this wide reaching effort.

 “The City has hired more outreach staff, provided outreach teams with new tools, and opened more than 1,300 specialized beds for unsheltered New Yorkers since January 2020, with hundreds more opening in the coming months,” said the statement. 

 Photo Credit: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.