By the editor 
In New York City, the only way to ensure you get a seat is to go where others are uncomfortable. Often times, unfortunately, this means next to a homeless individual whose shoes are torn and battered, toes showing through the soles wherever dirt is not layered thickly enough to cover them. The odor, lack of a shower or even self-regard for basic hygiene combined with antisocial behavior leads to virtually everyone to be repelled by the individual.
However, looking at this issue as an individual fault obfuscates the lack of substance abuse rehabilitation or mental stabilization which should be the domain of the state.
Nearly every issue, from driving to housing, involves state intervention so when mental health problems spill over into public transit one would assume that the state is at the ready. Only New York City, apparently, appears to think that they can exert authority over this domain, though. Recently, Mayor Eric Adams authorized the New York Police Department to compel or detain individuals with obvious signs of withdrawals or psychosis.
According to the government of NYC, New York City’s homeless population has risen this month to more than 77,000 people, by far the most ever recorded and an increase of over 70 percent since May. However, most survey mechanisms are necessarily flawed due to sample bias to those who are residing in visible spaces, lack of training for surveyors and infrequency and delay in crunching statistical results.