Toba Potosky: We Are Failing Our Neighbors Without Homes
New Yorkers are well familiar with the problems of homelessness. This has been an issue the city, indeed the country, has grappled with for many years. The confluence of mental illness, high housing costs, poverty, and government inaction have made homelessness seem an intractable problem. It is not. As a candidate to represent the 33rd District in the City Council, I have been reviewing our present condition, but let me share a recent experience that made this even more top-of-mind.
While walking my dog back from the park the other day, I saw a man in only pants and sneakers standing across the street from my home, urinating into a sewer grate. A woman with a baby carriage stood in the crosswalk, waiting for him to finish before proceeding in his direction. Moments later, she passed, looking straight ahead, pretending not to see what we both just witnessed.
My heart sank as I watched this unfold before me. I’ve lived in Brooklyn for 36 years. I remember the 80’s. I remember the number of people without homes I’d see on the street, wondering if some spare coins from my pocket would equal kindness or a guarantee they will continue to live on the street. Survival is the name of the game. It still is.
