From the out-of-touch world of progressives: Advocates are upset that the new Moynihan train hall is off-putting to the homeless, The City reports.
After the taxpayers spent $1.6 billion on the renovation, it would be wrong if the homeless claimed the territory as an annex to their omnipresence at Penn Station.
This isn’t heartless. New York spends tens of millions of dollars a year on housing for the homeless, providing shelter for every person who wants it. Just because some people would rather sleep in a train station and panhandle the passengers doesn’t mean the city must accommodate them.
That the homeless feel unwelcome among the glistening grandeur of the elegant waiting area, and are opting to stay put in Penn, is a loss only to NJTransit commuters as Amtrak and LIRR passengers enjoy the new hall.
The “mean” features of Moynihan include a lack of seating for anyone except ticketed passengers and daily closure from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. But general seating will come once stores open in the new hall, so enjoy a vagrant-free hall while you can.
And pray that New York’s political leaders learn to ignore the advocates and start getting serious about treating the homeless as people who need tough love — not ridiculous “rights” that do them no good, but leave them a plague on so many public spaces.