As of the latest count, at least 14 people have died since last weekend’s snowstorm, frozen to death on the streets. No wonder there are so many homeless, destitute, and mentally ill men and women seeking shelter in our subways. But the subways should not be the solution for this problem. There is a better way. When it comes to the homeless in the subways, the governor has it right. She has been a powerful supporter of sound policies regarding the MTA, and subway homelessness is no exception. Her statements in her State of the State speech are encouraging. But more needs to be done to help the destitute who use them as homes. Currently the pure functioning of our mass transit is probably the best it has ever been. Under the leadership of Chairman Janno Lieber, the quality and consistency of service have never been better. And most notably, with the help of the NYPD, crime is at an all-time low. In recent years, there have been times when almost every subway car had a homeless person “living” in a corner of the car, with their full worldly possessions on display. Subway stations are their homes. The Second Ave. subway is the most expensive homeless shelter ever built, just one of many stations used this way. Patrons are continuously confronted by the destitute and mentally ill, some begging for assistance, most of which are not a real threat, but many strike an image of fear and disorder. In the richest city in the country, the subways and streets should not be the home of last result for people who have nowhere else to go. They need help, serious help. They need a place to go. So, when Gov. Hochul says she wants to expand the SCOUT program, everyone should support her, including the mayor by having NYPD accompany the teams. It is a good program but far more must be done, both by the government and by the terrific non-profits, like the Doe Fund, which provide life-changing help for homeless, able-bodied men. But what about the mentally ill? Consider the following. In the 1970s, the state had 90,000 beds in mental hospitals like Pilgrim State on Long Island, Middletown State in Orange County, Manhattan Psychiatric Center on Wards Island, and Holliswood Hospital in Queens. However, in the name of saving money and caving to advocates who had no idea where these patients would go, we now have thousands of homeless mentally ill people roaming the streets, most of which end up in the subways. It is time to revisit these terrible decisions which have been made by several governors and reopen some of these psychiatric hospitals so that when the outreach teams on the subway identify a severely mentally ill person, they can receive appropriate care and not just a few days in a local hospital. With proper treatment a mentally ill person can be eligible to apply for supportive housing. Fifty years of neglect and ignorance has led us to this day when 4,500 homeless individuals are roaming our streets and subways. With thousands of homeless folks living in stations and on trains, it makes sense to replicate the Drop-in Center model within the system. A pilot program should be established where centers would be set up in large stations like 34th St., Times Square and Union Square, where there are vast amounts of empty space that could provide seating, food, clothing and medical assistance. Once the homeless get rested in these centers they would be more amenable to meeting with a social worker and agreeing to move to a shelter or psychiatric center for stabilization. Yes, this all will cost money. How about taxing every package that is delivered into the city by Amazon, FedEx etc. Maybe a charge as little as $1 each could provide millions in revenue and maybe reduce congestion caused by deliveries. And if congestion is a problem, why not charge corporate Uber and Lyft like the medallion owners had to pay to operate instead of letting them operate essentially for free. That could raise hundreds of millions and could be used to make our subways better in not only the ways we’ve discussed here, but in every other way also. Riccio is a former NYC DOT commissioner and MTA board member. Mascali is a former deputy commissioner of the NYC Department of Homeless Services. ...read more read less