Homeless in NYC: Tougher than ever amid COVID-19 pandemic

NEW YORK (AP) — Three hours before mealtime, a line begins to form on the sidewalk outside St Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, facing Park Avenue in one of New York City’s poshest neighbourhoods.

By 5:30 p.m., when plastic bags of carry-away suppers are unloaded from a van and ready for pick-up on a folding table, the line will have twisted around two corners to the opposite side of the block — nearly 300 homeless people waiting patiently, roughly 6 feet apart, some neatly dressed, some heartbreakingly bedraggled.

Listening to some of them, and to the staff who operate the daily meal program, this much is clear: However difficult it’s always been to be homeless in New York, it’s tougher and scarier now amid the coronavirus pandemic.

For those living in close quarters in city-run shelters, there’s fear of exposure to COVID-19.

The Department of Homeless Services has identified more than 650 cases and more than 50 COVID-19 deaths among the 17,000 single adults in its shelter system.

For the estimated 3,500 homeless New Yorkers who live on the streets, including most of those lined up outside St Bart’s, worries about disease are coupled with other new indignities.

Scores of them, opting to sleep on the subways, were removed from the trains by police in a clearance operation last week.

And with so many closures of coffee shops, rehab centers, even the restrooms at Grand Central Station, it’s harder than ever to find a bathroom they can use, or a place to take a shower.

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