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The city that always seemed the "worst" for me is Baltimore. Get a block or two away from the inner harbor and it seemed pretty rampant, but I only spent about a week there so I can't really say it's that way all the time or just happened to be bad at the times I was there.
Transit Police report arresting a man they say demanded a cigarette from a couple standing on the Red Line platform at Quincy Center, then hit the man with a bottle and threatened to stab the woman, around 2 p.m. on Tuesday
These types of things seem to happen a lot in Boston and it screams of a homeless person to me.
I really disagree. Boston is not particularly worse or better than other comparable NEC cities imo. And seems to be getting worse. I was approached by so many homeless people 2 weeks ago and there are at least 2/3 on virtually every single bus or train. It seems worse in Baltimore and Philly but i think thats due to poverty.
On a per capita basis no worse than NYC or DC. I think in DC they're more visible but they're almost always in areas of low foot traffic and near highways and exit ramps. Not aggressive at all. In Boston, the homeless seem hostile and ready to go. Often shouting nasty cusswords, ethnic/homophobic slurs and stuff at people. I was on Warren Street in Roxbury, intersection of Seaver Street and Walnut Ave in Roxbury, Mattapan Station, and was approached by homeless beggers while in my car (Seaver and Walnut Ave), while on foot entering my jobs office, and while waiting for the bus. There was also a homeless man/beggar back at Morton and Blue Hill the time I was there before. I also still saw homeless at the Central Library, sleeping in the doorways on Tremont Street and in Downtown Crossing. I saw the shacks by Franklin Park and their illegal tents. I saw a tent somewhere else too but I forget exactly where.
It a big part of why my job is moving its offices from Nubian Square to nearby Bromley Heath/Mildred Hailer. We had a business owner below us, a black woman- shut her hair salon down because people were scared off by the homeless and drug dealers in front of our building. This is what she told my boss directly. We had people in our office commuting from Somerville pre-pandemic who did not feel safe leaving work in the winter because it was dark and they'd get harassed. My coworkers and boss said theyd see 10+ drug deals per day in the parking lot by our office. When i came there was a woman literally rolling around on the ground bumping into the fence, and a considerable amount of trash.
I also recently read that South bay customers and store owners are frustrated with the homelessness and more accurately the drug use inside of store buildings - particularly the bathrooms.
I think you see fewer tenants in Boston because of the right-to-shelter law but vagrants, seemingly unclean homeless-type people are fairly plentiful during the day in a large part of the city.
Definitely disagree. I work in Lower Manhattan now and its pretty awful just abut everywhere. From Hoboken Terminal, Journal Square, WTC Station, Gramercy Park, Midtown, Penn Station, Port Authority and various streets here and there.
A few weeks ago I was in Hoboken (I know, not NYC... but Hoboken gets a lot of NYC homeless people now because its so overcrowded there) and a white dude called three black girls the N word at the McDonalds on Washington Street. He threatened the staff and the police did nothing.
It definitely is bad in Boston, but NYC (Not sure about DC, I am actually surprised it would be bad) definitely has more in the spotlight, you will interact with them more. I think NYC homeless are less aggressive because, I hate to say it, its apart of the city's fabric now. Homeless people have been there for decades and the problem from the immense gentrification of the whole island of Manhattan has gone way too far. It wasn't too long ago when Lower Manhattan was 50% lower income... those days of the 1990s-2000s are long gone.
Manhattan is one of my least favorite places on the Earth for just how awful it has treated its citizens in recent years. I work for the City of New York now, its a problem that will continue getting worse...
Definitely disagree. I work in Lower Manhattan now and its pretty awful just abut everywhere. From Hoboken Terminal, Journal Square, WTC Station, Gramercy Park, Midtown, Penn Station, Port Authority and various streets here and there.
A few weeks ago I was in Hoboken (I know, not NYC... but Hoboken gets a lot of NYC homeless people now because its so overcrowded there) and a white dude called three black girls the N word at the McDonalds on Washington Street. He threatened the staff and the police did nothing.
It definitely is bad in Boston, but NYC (Not sure about DC, I am actually surprised it would be bad) definitely has more in the spotlight, you will interact with them more. I think NYC homeless are less aggressive because, I hate to say it, its apart of the city's fabric now. Homeless people have been there for decades and the problem from the immense gentrification of the whole island of Manhattan has gone way too far. It wasn't too long ago when Lower Manhattan was 50% lower income... those days of the 1990s-2000s are long gone.
Manhattan is one of my least favorite places on the Earth for just how awful it has treated its citizens in recent years. I work for the City of New York now, its a problem that will continue getting worse...
Maybe it's all true, logically practically I could see homeless being attracted to NYC. But maybe I don't notice it because of the sheer density of people. Maybe because it's part of the city fabric as you say.
But I don't notice a ton of Homeless people in Northern Manhattan, Queens or Brooklyn. I'm very very rarely ever in Lower Manhattan, and I do see considerable vagrants around Midtown but never like a tent, and rarely someone sleeping in a doorway. Usually pushing a cart or something.
I wouldn't imagine Staten to have many and Last time I was in NYC I stayed in the Bronx not far form the Bronx Zoo, didn't notice any homeless. I stayed right here
There is a Park along the Bronx River Parkway 100 feet away. Its little used, flat, in a low-income area, near the freeway and about a 5-minute walk from the train- if you were going to be a homeless person this would be a logical place to stay or put up a tent. However, I brought my son to the Park- absolutely spotless and feckless.
Boston has a homeless population yes...but there are plenty of areas that don't have homeless people. Clearly Boston is alive and well and people still wanting to live here despite our homeless population. In fact many people are homeless because of the supply/demand of people wanting to live here.
Maybe it's all true, logically practically I could see homeless being attracted to NYC. But maybe I don't notice it because of the sheer density of people. Maybe because it's part of the city fabric as you say.
But I don't notice a ton of Homeless people in Northern Manhattan, Queens or Brooklyn. I'm very very rarely ever in Lower Manhattan, and I do see considerable vagrants around Midtown but never like a tent, and rarely someone sleeping in a doorway. Usually pushing a cart or something.
I wouldn't imagine Staten to have many and Last time I was in NYC I stayed in the Bronx not far form the Bronx Zoo, didn't notice any homeless. I stayed right here
There is a Park along the Bronx River Parkway 100 feet away. Its little used, flat, in a low-income area, near the freeway and about a 5-minute walk from the train- if you were going to be a homeless person this would be a logical place to stay or put up a tent. However, I brought my son to the Park- absolutely spotless and feckless.
I love the Bronx... the Bronx doesn't have really any homeless people if I recall. Its mostly Manhattan from below about 75th Street on the East Side and 60th Street on the West Side, picks up significantly around Hells Kitchen/Port Authority and then again in random spots around the LES. Then parts of Queens and a handful of neighborhoods in North Brooklyn.
Its becoming noticeable in New Jersey too. New Brunswick, Hoboken, JSQ, Newark Penn, Newark and some stretches of Bergen County underneath i-80 around Hackensack/Bogota area.
I really disagree. Boston is not particularly worse or better than other comparable NEC cities imo. And seems to be getting worse. I was approached by so many homeless people 2 weeks ago and there are at least 2/3 on virtually every single bus or train. It seems worse in Baltimore and Philly but i think thats due to poverty.
On a per capita basis no worse than NYC or DC. I think in DC they're more visible but they're almost always in areas of low foot traffic and near highways and exit ramps. Not aggressive at all. In Boston, the homeless seem hostile and ready to go.
I think Boston is quite a bit better than Philly and Baltimore. This might be influenced by the fact that Boston has more foot traffic than either city in/around the city Center so it's easier to hide, but both Philly and Baltimore appear to have a much greater homeless population to my eyes.
Boston may be comparable to DC and NYC on a per capita basis, but I still think it's a little better than both. NYC has always had a visible and vocal homeless population so it's hard for me to say whether its better or worse. It feels the same to me. DC (I was there for several days last week) has actually gotten much worse over the past several years in my experience though. I don't think the homeless people I encountered there are much less "aggressive" than in Boston either. I was asked for money just as often as I am in Boston. Not rude, but it hasn't been rude in Boston either for me (a lot of "god blesses" going around in both places). That said, I don't doubt that experiences vary depending on the individual.
The big difference between DC and Boston for me is that there seem to be larger groups of homeless hanging around in central DC. Especially at night. I walked by several groups of 10+ on corners just steps from the Mall. I don't see much of that in Boston. And while Mass/Cass is worse than any single encampment I've personally seen in DC (there could be worse ones), it's off the beaten path for most visitors. In DC, I drove and walked by several in/around the city center in pretty visible spots (tents set up literally in the shadow of the Capitol lends an added degree of symbolism too). I'm certainly open to the fact that my perspective might be skewed, but the homelessness in DC seemed a good deal more in your face than it does in Boston to me.
I think Boston is quite a bit better than Philly and Baltimore. This might be influenced by the fact that Boston has more foot traffic than either city in/around the city Center so it's easier to hide, but both Philly and Baltimore appear to have a much greater homeless population to my eyes.
Boston may be comparable to DC and NYC on a per capita basis, but I still think it's a little better than both. NYC has always had a visible and vocal homeless population so it's hard for me to say whether its better or worse. It feels the same to me. DC (I was there for several days last week) has actually gotten much worse over the past several years in my experience though. I don't think the homeless people I encountered there are much less "aggressive" than in Boston either. I was asked for money just as often as I am in Boston. Not rude, but it hasn't been rude in Boston either for me (a lot of "god blesses" going around in both places). That said, I don't doubt that experiences vary depending on the individual.
The big difference between DC and Boston for me is that there seem to be larger groups of homeless hanging around in central DC. Especially at night. I walked by several groups of 10+ on corners just steps from the Mall. I don't see much of that in Boston. And while Mass/Cass is worse than any single encampment I've personally seen in DC (there could be worse ones), it's off the beaten path for most visitors. In DC, I drove and walked by several in/around the city center in pretty visible spots (tents set up literally in the shadow of the Capitol lends an added degree of symbolism too). I'm certainly open to the fact that my perspective might be skewed, but the homelessness in DC seemed a good deal more in your face than it does in Boston to me.
Baltimore and Philly are worse- no doubt.
Generally when I lived in DC the homeless were not very visible, but it has gotten worse in my few visit back since I moved out 5 years ago. The difference is I'm not really seeing homeless in and around train stations and businesses as much in DC as I see them in Boston. Train stations, in particular, are much better in DC than someplace like Andrew, Fields Corner or Downtown Crossing or even some Green Line stops.
A place like a park ( like the national Mall) or an exit ramp seemed to be the norm which makes sense as DC generally has far more law enforcement officers and more strict city codes and bylaws when it comes to public disorder (signs on the bus and train - no eating, no drinking, no loud music, exit fares and so on).
I know Union Station had homeless tents outside the building but not many if any homeless Inside the building like I continue to see in Boston. But you'll never see the tents you do elsewhere due to the right to shelter law in MA, were the only ones in the country with it.
I ironically both DC and Boston were reporting multi-year decreases in homelessness until 2023.
There is a Park along the Bronx River Parkway 100 feet away. Its little used, flat, in a low-income area, near the freeway and about a 5-minute walk from the train- if you were going to be a homeless person this would be a logical place to stay or put up a tent. However, I brought my son to the Park- absolutely spotless and feckless.
Homeless people generally do best in areas where lots of people and businesses are. I don't see that park as being a logical choice at all.
Tompkins Square Park in the East Village is where you'll see lots of homeless people. And in the subway.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lrfox
The big difference between DC and Boston for me is that there seem to be larger groups of homeless hanging around in central DC. Especially at night. I walked by several groups of 10+ on corners just steps from the Mall. I don't see much of that in Boston. And while Mass/Cass is worse than any single encampment I've personally seen in DC (there could be worse ones), it's off the beaten path for most visitors.
Walk through the Common during the night.
(Actually, don't...it's not safe.)
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