- The photo was taken on the New York City 3 train on Friday evening
- Straphangers sit obliviously above the man as it pulls into the 72nd Street station
- Many say the photo is indicative of New York City’s homeless problem
- As of August 2017, there were more than 61,000 homeless people in the New York City municipal shelter system
A seemingly homeless man was captured in a photo sleeping underneath the seat of a New York City subway car.
The man is seen sleeping under the seats of a 3 train on Friday evening as oblivious riders sit right above him while the train rumbles into the 72nd Street station, according to The New York Post.
Straphangers said they were completely blown away by the scene.
A seemingly homeless man was captured in a photo sleeping underneath the seat of a New York City subway car. The man is seen sleeping under the seats of a 3 train on Friday evening as oblivious riders sit right above him (file photo)
‘That’s crazy! I’ve never seen anything like that,’ rider Peter Betta, 62, told the newspaper as he waited for a downtown 3 train at 116th Street.
Others say that the scene is indicative of the city’s homelessness problem and this scene shouldn’t be that shocking ‘ Howard Orlick, 56, of Harlem said. ‘There are no rules on the subway anymore.’
An MTA spokesman told The Post that homelessness spilling onto the subways that it’s a city-wide problem.
In recent years, homelessness in New York City has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s, according to the Coalition for the Homeless.
As of August 2017, there were 61,471 homeless people, including 15,315 homeless families with 22,970 homeless children, sleeping each night in the New York City municipal shelter system. Families comprise just over three-quarters of the homeless shelter population.
There were 100,000 homeless students in New York City public schools during the 2015-16 school year, according to a report Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness.