NEW YORK CITY, New York: Mayor Eric Adams has ordered every homeless camp in New York City to be taken down within two weeks, arguing that the situation is not only dangerous to those living there, but to the city itself.

On 25 March Adams said, “We are going to rid the encampments off our streets and we are going to place people in healthy living conditions with wraparound services.”

“I am looking to do it within a two-week period,” he added in an interview with the New York Times, which noted that the number of people living in parks and on the streets was around 1,100, but this figure was likely too low.

Amidst a surge in crime and a series of high-profile violent attacks, the issue of homelessness in New York has become a major talking point, but advocates point out that the city and its homeless population have suffered from inadequate mental health services for many years.

The debate has centered on the city’s subway, the scene of many reported assaults, which culminated, in recent weeks weeks, with city administrators and employers mounting a “Subway Safety Plan” to get workers back to offices after two years of remaining home because of the pandemic.

Earlier this month, officials from the city’s transport system, the MTA, and homeless outreach workers said there are 29 homeless encampments in subway tunnels and another 89 in stations.

Adams said that, as a former transit policeman, he understood how dangerous the tunnels are.

“When you have those utilizing tunnel systems without any form of interaction of law enforcement, you could have a person that is not only there to deal with the dangers of being homeless on the tracks, but you also have the potential person that’s trying to do something harmful,” he stated.