New York City Mayor Eric Adams unveils plan to bar people from sheltering on subway trains

New York City officials will soon begin implementing rules to prevent unhoused people from seeking shelter on the subway, Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday. Residents could see changes as soon as next week, Adams said. 

"The system is not made to be housing," Adams said Friday at a press conference. "It's made to be transportation and we have to return back to that basic philosophy." 

A key component of the plan will direct the NYPD to enforce rules against people sleeping across multiple seats, exhibiting "aggressive" behavior and creating an "unsanitary environment," the mayor's office said in a statement. The plan, implemented in partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York Governor Kathy Hochul, will also require all passengers to leave the train and station at the end of each subway line, and prohibits using the subway for a purpose other than transportation.