Zohran Mamdani sees opportunities to alleviate New York City’s homelessness and mental health crises scattered throughout the subway system: in empty storefronts and underground vacant spaces.
Running for mayor, Mamdani is eyeing those places for crisis and drop-in hubs to serve homeless people. The state assemblymember from Queens said his idea could connect people to longer-term care and provide “triage” centers for those undergoing mental health crises in the subways — something that has become all too familiar for many New Yorkers.
“If you just think about New Yorkers who are in a moment of crisis, in a mental health crisis, to just have a place they know they can go to that is in the subway station, where they can get just a moment of relief, a moment of care, a moment of guidance,” Mamdani told Gothamist on a walk through Times Square station. “It could be all the difference.”…