JFK AirTrain terminal overrun with homeless aggressively begging for cash as police ‘do nothing’

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People with their belongings at the Jamaica AirTrain station.
People loiter with their belongings at the Jamaica station.Michael Nagle

In New York City alone, there were 140,134 homeless people last year, up from 88,025 in 2023, according to Newsday, citing HUD data. More than 130,000 people slept in city shelters in October alone, with thousands more estimated to be living on the streets, according to the Coalition for the Homeless.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new hands-off approach to the problem isn’t helping, critics claim.

The Big Apple’s newly elected Democratic socialist mayor said last month before taking office that he would halt sweeps of homeless encampments across the five boroughs — and even announced after being sworn in that he would roll out 30 public toilets for the homeless.

A man sleeps on the floor of the arrivals area at Terminal 4 at JFK International Airport.
AirTrain users said dozens of homeless have become a common and unsightly part of the vital link to JFK Airport.AFP via Getty Images

One MTA employee at the AirTrain terminal quipped, “This is what I’m used to.”

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees JFK and the AirTrain, said in a statement that it works closely with the MTA and other partners to maintain safety and order for travelers and the surrounding community, but is not “immune from the conditions facing the unhoused throughout the region,” particularly during the winter. Continue reading…

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