The homeless encampment rapidly spreading across 12 blocks along the West Side of Manhattan from the Intrepid Museum to the Javits Center is a red flag to New Yorkers in every part of the city that if you own anything, the city will not protect you, your business, or your property.
Owners of the stores and restaurants along that stretch can expect tourists and other customers to stop coming because they have to step over human waste, navigate around drug-addled, half-conscious bodies, avoid sex workers, and hold their breath against the stench.
"If a mom (moms usually plan the trips) sees the stories and photos near the Intrepid, they will go elsewhere," warns Cristyne Lategano, former head of NYC & Company.
Yet when Mayor Zohran Mamdani was asked on Monday what he will do about the growing eyesore, he gave his usual blather about connecting homeless New Yorkers to permanent housing instead of just moving them "from one place to another place."
Not a word about the impact on working people, families, and property owners. Previous mayors cared about their concerns. Not Mamdani.
The concerns are real. Homelessness turns a city street into a petri dish, bringing hepatitis A, tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases California Gov. Gavin Newsom labels "medieval," such as the bacterial infection typhus, which is spread by lice and fleas. Los Angeles, the homelessness capital of the nation, has been struggling with these diseases.
Bartonella quintana, another bacterial infection carried by lice, can cause heart failure in humans. Common during trench warfare in World War I, it was thought to have disappeared but is now popping up in homeless sites.
"Homeless encampments are infectious disease time bombs," warns Louisiana coroner Dr. Dwight L. McKenna.
Tuberculosis prevalence in New York City is already double the national average. Who needs more?
Encampments also bring crime, victimizing both the homeless and anyone nearby. Crime within one block of an encampment is nearly triple the citywide average, according to a Portland, Oregon, study.
Encampments destroy tourism, warns George Lence of Nicholas & Lence Communications. He says the city and state stand to lose $7.5 billion in tourism tax revenue "the mayor desperately needs to fulfill his campaign promises."
In Los Angeles, where leftist pols have allowed encampments to blanket iconic neighborhoods like Hollywood, international tourism has plummeted. The famous Hollywood dining landmark Musso & Frank Grill struggles with homelessness right outside its doors. New York's landmarks are next.
But Mamdani cleaves to the Democratic Socialists of America ideology, which opposes clearing encampments. In February, after 19 apparently unsheltered New Yorkers had died from cold-related causes, Mamdani briefly succumbed to common sense, but he was roundly criticized by fellow DSA members and reversed himself fast.
Your rights—the urgent need to protect your health and the value of your home or your business—are not legitimate concerns, according to the DSA, whose definition of housing justice spurns private property altogether.
Unfortunately, Mamdani has a majority of the city council on his side.
Council Member Carl Wilson (D) for Manhattan's West Side admits the encampments "threaten public health, undermine public safety (and) hurt our small businesses." But he stops short of saying they need to be swept immediately even if the "root causes" of homelessness have not been addressed.
Council Republicans, a small minority, recognize these encampments as a turning point toward widespread city deterioration to come. "You can call 311, you can call 911, your business can suffer, the sidewalk can be blocked," Republican Council member Frank Morano cautions, "but the city may simply decide it doesn't have the will to enforce basic standards of public order. That's a dangerous erosion of the social contract between New Yorkers and their government."
Raw opportunism is also to blame. The homelessness industrial complex is raking in money so long as the homelessness problem grows. "Shelter providers are paid to operate shelters. Outreach organizations are paid to conduct outreach. Contractors are paid to manage facilities," explains Morano. No one is rewarded when a homeless person becomes self-sufficient.
New Yorkers have two options: Move, or vote for political leaders who will put public safety and order first.
Florida bans municipalities from allowing public sleeping or camping. "Florida will not allow homeless encampments to intrude on its citizens or undermine their quality of life like we see in New York and California," says Gov. Ron DeSantis.
At the other extreme, some blue states are legitimating sleeping in the rough, public health and safety be damned. Connecticut passed a law this year barring towns from closing down encampments or discouraging sleeping in the rough. Crazy.
For New Yorkers who want to stay here, the only option is to elect a mayor and city council who will prioritize order and public safety.
San Francisco did it. Newly elected Mayor Daniel Lurie's homelessness program "Breaking the Cycle" sweeps the encampments, rather than tolerating them, and puts most of the homeless into addiction and mental health programs as a condition for housing.
San Franciscans finally seized control from the homelessness industrial complex and far-left loonies, and are saving their city. New Yorkers can do the same and should start preparing for the next election now.
Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. Governor of New York State and Chairman & Founder of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths at www.hospitalinfection.org. Follow her on X @Betsy_McCaughey.