Midtown Manhattan– it’s probably New York’s biggest tourist attraction. Whether it’s visiting Times Square, walking through Grand Central Terminal, or ice skating at Bryant Park, there is something for everyone to do. This is the only version of New York City that I have known so it was surprising to hear about the neighborhood’s history of crime, drugs, and homelessness when I conducted my interview on a resident of Midtown. Thus, I wanted to do some digging to discover how Midtown went from this:
…to this:
My main goal in this project was to discover the ways in which the city attempted to remove and help the homeless and what tactic was ultimately successful. I was unable to find a clear cut answer to my question– that would have been too easy. Rather I came across two groups, the Grand Central Partnership B.I.D. and the Coalition for the Homeless.
A B.I.D., or a business improvement district, is an area where the local business owners use their money to provide services for the people in their community. This includes public safety, street cleaning, providing services to the homeless, and the overall beautification of the neighborhood. Considering it their duty to assist the homeless, the Grand Central Partnership created drop-in centers that would help them in securing jobs and housing. Sounds pretty good, right?
On the other hand, there is the Coalition for the Homeless. Also founded in the earlier 1980s, their duty was also to help homeless people; however they had a much different approach. While the B.I.D.s consisted of wealthy business owners, the Coalition for the Homeless included grassroots activists, Robert Hayes, as well as the homeless themselves. This group not only provided services for the homeless but also legal services.
Robert Hayes noticed the amount of homeless people on the street and was angered by the situation. He began to speak to homeless people as well as visit homeless shelters and what he found were places so dilapidated and overcrowded, it was easier for many of them to live on the streets. Although he had never tried a case before, he decided to file a lawsuit against the governor at the time, Hugh Carey as well as against Mayor Ed Koch and the Department of Social Services. Although he filed the lawsuit for one homeless man in particular, the case was on behalf of all homeless people living in New York City. Hayes achieved his goal and the New York Supreme Court created the Right to Shelter pact that guaranteed housing for all homeless people.
In the mid-1980s, the Coalition for the Homeless created a feeding line outside of Grand Central. Several other organizations across the city also offered similar feeding lines, causing many of the homeless people to travel throughout the city to attend as many as possible. Residents, concerned with the amount of homeless people on the street complained to the Grand Central Partnership. They partnered with Hayes and their solution was to provide food for the homeless but away from the rest of the public’s eye. They moved the feeding line inside of the service center created by the B.I.D..
Eventually, Robert Hayes stepped down as the leader and was replaced by Mary Brosnahan. She didn’t have as much of an interest in partnering with the Grand Central Partnership and even stated that hated business people. The new feeding line in the center was overcrowded and required the homeless to go through metal detectors. In response, Brosnahan would move the feeding lines outside to their original spots. In retaliation, the drop-in center would hand out menus to the homeless people advertising the food served at the center.
Further conflict was created as a result of the outreach program created by the Grand Central Partnership. They were accused of not only hiring the homeless and paying them below minimum wage but they also used the homeless to try and get other homeless people off the streets. Allegedly, the partnership encouraged the homeless they hired to beat up the homeless people on the streets if they refused to either move or visit the drop in center for help. There is no word of whether or not these allegations are true but much of the funding for the B.I.D. was revoked amid the controversy.
After much research, I never found my answer. There was no big initiative that dramatically reduced homelessness, rather different strategies that hid them. Since most people view the homeless as something not fit for public consumption, they are either driven out as displayed by the partnership or, on the rare occasion, helped as seen by the Coalition for the Homeless. Even today, you can see certain strategies used to block the homeless from entering certain public spaces– whether it be leaning benches in the subway, “armrests” on public benches, or NYPD making sure nobody is loitering in parks.
Alexandre Casanovas Blanco, Lluis Alexandre Casanovas Blanco. “A Cut Above the Streets: Robert M. Hayes, Co-Founder of Coalition for the Homeless, in Conversation with Lluís Alexandre Casanovas Blanco.” Archinect, 2019, archinect.com/features/article/150133042/a-cut-above-the-streets-robert-m-hayes-co-founder-of-coalition-for-the-homeless-in-conversation-with-llu-s-alexandre-casanovas-blanco.
Mac Donald, Heather. “BIDs Really Work.” City Journal, 26 Jan. 2016, www.city-journal.org/html/bids-really-work-11853.html.
P.j. “Browse Cases.” Legal Research Tools from Casetext, casetext.com/case/callahan-v-carey-9.
“The Callahan Legacy: Callahan v. Carey and the Legal Right to Shelter.” Coalition For The Homeless, www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/our-programs/advocacy/legal-victories/the-callahan-legacy-callahan-v-carey-and-the-legal-right-to-shelter/.
