"If you don't want us to be in the streets, give us homes."
These New York homeless residents are fighting back against the mayor's push to rid the city of homeless encampments. We went to "Anarchy Row" to speak with those whose tents were removed in the latest sweep.
These New York homeless residents are fighting back against the mayor's push to rid the city of homeless encampments. We went to "Anarchy Row" to speak with those whose tents were removed in the latest sweep.
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00:00If you don't want us to be in the streets, give us homes.
00:02This is Russell for Brute.
00:04I'm headed to NYC's Anarchy Row,
00:06where the city's police and sanitation workers
00:09cleared out an encampment
00:11belonging to a group of homeless people.
00:13Stop abusing homeless people!
00:15Stop abusing homeless people!
00:17Stop abusing homeless people!
00:19Police arrested six protesters
00:21and 37-year-old John Grima,
00:23who refused to leave his tent.
00:25So, yeah, last night I came out of the, uh,
00:28getting arrested.
00:29I got charged for, uh, resisting arrest,
00:33and I think the other one's obstruction
00:34of government administration.
00:36They, uh, threw out a bunch of our belongings
00:38that we asked them to vouch for.
00:40We're going under some scaffolding
00:42because it's starting to rain.
00:43You've got to clear all that bad garbage
00:45I had to take from yesterday out, right?
00:48They took everything out.
00:49You've got to fill it back up with that.
00:50This is nice.
00:51We're leaving now.
00:51It's not good.
00:52This is bad.
00:52We made it nice and clean, though.
00:53This is bad.
00:54This is ridiculous.
00:55This is...
00:55You know what?
00:56What are they harming us?
00:58We're suffering enough already.
00:59Did you have a tent here yesterday?
01:01Yeah, yeah.
01:04New York City's new mayor, Eric Adams,
01:06has been pushing to remove the city's
01:08homeless encampments
01:09and prevent homeless people
01:11from sleeping in the subway.
01:12When you finally notice
01:14that you're not going to have
01:16encampments everywhere,
01:17that you're not going to have people
01:18on your streets everywhere,
01:20you're going to all of a sudden
01:21take this broccoli moment
01:23and understand that I made us
01:24a healthy city.
01:25Has there been a difference
01:26with Eric Adams' administration?
01:28I haven't been following the news.
01:31I'm a homeless guy.
01:32My phone isn't active.
01:34I have less than probably $5
01:36in my name right now.
01:38But, like, nothing's changed.
01:41I'm still pushing, you know?
01:42The people I spoke to say
01:44they want more help from the government
01:45and placements in apartments
01:47rather than shelters.
01:48And in the shelters, are they safe?
01:50No.
01:51You get beat up or you have to fight back?
01:54I mean, grown men go in pairs
01:56because they're so afraid to go alone.
01:59Are you serious?
02:00You want me to go there alone?
02:02Is that your goddamn mind,
02:04Eric Adams, you know?
02:06If they're looking for a place,
02:08an apartment for homeless people,
02:09they don't have to look too hard
02:10because there's 230,000 vacant units
02:13in New York City right now
02:14and only about, estimate,
02:1690-something thousand
02:17homeless people in the entire state.
02:19It's disgusting.
02:21It's always been the way it is.
02:23And, you know, it's not impossible to change it.
02:27I'm right back here.
02:28I'm fighting for my rights.
02:28Right back here.
02:30Our rights.
02:31My rights.
02:31My people's rights.
02:32All of us.
02:34OK, because, yes, a lot of empty apartments.
02:36Apartments that they built for the homeless.
02:38So why they can't help us?
02:40You know what I'm saying?
02:41What do you think your next move is
02:44now that you don't have the tent?
02:45I think we're running out of room.
02:47We need to rebuild the tent.
02:50Yeah.
02:51Make sure the messaging is clear once again.
02:56Wait to see what Eric Adams' next move is.