A growing number of homeless encampments along West 45th and 46th Streets near Manhattan's Intrepid Museum have become a point of contention, with local businesses and residents decrying the unsanitary conditions while some individuals experiencing homelessness commend the city's current outreach efforts.
The encampments, which have spread between the museum parking lot and an Amazon warehouse, are characterized by scattered bicycles, electronics, and refuse, prompting complaints from those working and living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood.
"You see how it looks? How dirty it is? How can you eat food and the next corner is smelly, dirty, nasty, crusty, disgusting?" a food cart owner at the corner of Twelfth Avenue and West 46th Street told The Post. He stated that despite numerous calls to 311 and 911, the city has only addressed the trash, not the encampments themselves.
This approach, characterized by some as a "hands-off approach," has been met with approval from some encampment residents. Markus C., who lives in a separate encampment but visits the site near the Intrepid, praised Mayor Zohran Mamdani, stating, "Mamdani is awesome. He, like, did a whole paradigm shift on homelessness and care." He noted a perceived increase in outreach workers compared to police presence under the previous administration.
However, the city's official policy, even under Mamdani, outlines a seven-day process for encampment sweeps that includes notices, daily check-ins to offer shelter services, and then clearing the sites. Complaints regarding the encampments near the Intrepid have been logged by the NYPD and Department of Human Services on multiple occasions in July.
A security guard at the Intrepid parking lot acknowledged that while the encampments have not caused direct issues for his team, they are a "persistent annoyance for the general public." A jogger, Rashid Mak, 37, who passes the encampment daily, described the situation as problematic due to the "stench" and "trash, garbage. Just loitering here, littering."
Workers in the Intrepid parking lot noted that gates were closed months ago to those living in encampments due to littering and the proximity of children visiting the museum. They expressed frustration with the ongoing need to clean up the area.
Liam James, who resides at the West 46th Street encampment, described a shift in city tactics, from what he termed "emergency sweeps" under the previous administration, which could involve arrests and discarding all belongings, to the current approach of sanitation crews clearing trash and outreach workers providing wellness checks. He mentioned that residents are limited to three bags of belongings during trash cleanups, which typically occur on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
"So as a human, I’m only entitled to three bags of things. Obviously it’s not trash [they’re throwing away], it’s somebody who has luggage. It’s wild. Why would you throw somebody’s life away?" James stated.
James Bilis, who has been homeless for five years, also credited Mamdani's administration for an increase in outreach services and a reduction in enforcement, saying, "The homeless outreach, it’s been a lot of that. They walk around, they bring food to people all the time now. They bring supplies, try to give us shelters, there’s a lot more than before."
He contrasted this with the previous administration, stating, "I think with Adams, we would have been moved around a lot more... now, it’s like they don’t, they don’t bother you as much. They don’t mess with you."
Those living on the streets emphasized that their situation is temporary and they are seeking shelter solutions. The encampments, particularly the one outside the Intrepid, remain a visible issue for the surrounding community.