Union Station smells like urine, has a homeless problem, and is half deserted.

[Anonymous]

We used to go there when I was in high school in the 1990s...we'd get food there and hang out. Now I wouldn't do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not so new, actually. The problem is that the rest of DC has turned into Union Station. But Union Station has pretty much always been that way.

It’s been worse the last few years and has fallen off a cliff since COVID. Believe it or not but there was a time when Union Station had high end retail and fine dining.

I remember.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Russia has a good handle on this, we should use their way of addressing it

Subzero temperatures half the year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Had opposite experience from PP. Had not been to NYC since the refurbished Penn Station opened and was astonished to find that the former armpit of Amtrak was now this pristine marble space age station. However, week later was at Union Station at 9:30 PM waiting on DC to arrive on train and a homeless woman was ranting---quite angrily and loudly---in a way that was unnerving and threatening to everyone in the waiting area. It took far longer than it should have for the security to intervene and calm her down.

Prior to Covid I was taking Marc and metro for a decade and this has always been an issue. One of my law school classmates was almost attacked by a homeless man in a metro train who was screaming at her crazily. I have been yelled at and spit on by people outside of union station.

The homelessness problem is out of control. The shelter a few blocks from union station kicks people out at 5 am and where else are they supposed to go all day?

There should be day shelters. They do not have the right to loiter in public/ private spaces like this.

Or better yet, DC should stop accepting everyone else's homeless. That's how many of them ended up there in the first place. Put them back on buses and send them back to where they came from.

I think the housing vouchers that pay 180% of market rate may be attracting people. There was an article where people in VA said they were in the process of getting DC ID to get in program. Seems we may be becoming Seattle or CA as a draw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These were all such grand old stations. We have no civic pride. We can take care of people AND have nice things. When did we stop aiming for that?

We have addiction and metal health problems that are swept under the rug. Framing both as a "housing" issue has worked nicely to line the pockets of developers and politicians. Many of the unhoused have criminal records, it is hard to tell who may become violent.

The balance in public spaces post cv has really shifted, making them seem best avoided.

It was Regan and the ACLU who shut down institutions w/o anything to take their place.

It was Bush who gave us the HUD program Housing First which does not allow ANY conditions re: treatment or work/education requirements.

The newer meth causes psychosis faster, per The Atlantic and synthetic marijuana can be any chemicals sprayed on cardboard and smoked.

I know a lot of people who have left DC and crime and the cost of living were top reasons. When it was CHEAP here in the early 90s crime seemed like a trade off. Now carjackings are in broad daylight and parents with young kids have been repeatedly attacked on the Hill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wake up DC you’re about to lose people to flying and none is going to come downtown to eat or shop. Had to go to NYC today and the smell of urine is unbelievable. Barely anyplace to eat. I felt uncomfortable multiple times given the crappy homeless men milling about. Basically it’s a shit hole.

I lived on the Senate side when Union Station was recently renovated. It was so vibrant and beautiful and befitting the nation’s capital city then. It is disgusting now and a shamefull entry to the city.

Dulles says it begs to differ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not so new, actually. The problem is that the rest of DC has turned into Union Station. But Union Station has pretty much always been that way.

It’s been worse the last few years and has fallen off a cliff since COVID. Believe it or not but there was a time when Union Station had high end retail and fine dining.

I remember that time, but the bathrooms were urine-soaked even then.

When was that time? I worked at a restaurant in Union Station during undergrad and it was never a retail or dining destination.

'92 or'93.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not so new, actually. The problem is that the rest of DC has turned into Union Station. But Union Station has pretty much always been that way.

It’s been worse the last few years and has fallen off a cliff since COVID. Believe it or not but there was a time when Union Station had high end retail and fine dining.

30+ years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Penn Station says hold my beer.

Yes, last week I was stunned by the number of unhoused people at Union Station until I got off the train in NY and Penn Station was much worse.

"Unhoused people"

I'm not the poster you quoted, but that is the new politically correct term to use. I didn't know either until a friend told me a few months ago.

Well, they are both unhoused and homeless. Both are true and correct.

Why would they change the term, as homeless sums it up. Or do I sound careless (I mean, uncared)?

It reframes the solution as building more housing not addressing addiction and mental illness and criminal records/behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a homelessness crisis in our nation, but nobody wants to do anything about it. Instead, everywhere you look a new luxury condo/apartment complex is being built. Our country is pathetic.

There is a crisis of addiction, mental illness and a criminal past that is driving the homeless crisis.

There is a reason that they have no friends or family who will house them and they don't maintain jobs when there is record low unemployment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a homelessness crisis in our nation, but nobody wants to do anything about it. Instead, everywhere you look a new luxury condo/apartment complex is being built. Our country is pathetic.

People want to do something about it, but the problems is that no one wants to do the tough measures required. NYC recently increased it budget to help the homeless to 2 Billion dollars to help the 80,000 homeless, most of it apparently going to NGOs and all of their bloated managers. In San Fran, the city directly operates homeless tent camps costing $60,000 per tent/year. There is plenty of money going to the problem.

They tried to forcibly remove the tents and encampments to make these people get help, but they were sued and now must have a hands-off approach. If you do not force change, it will not happen, and no one will forcibly remove these people and MAKE them go into centers to get help. Vagrancy used to be against the law. Now it is not compassionate and we don't care. Baloney. We care to get them off the streets and into safe, sanitary housing, but in most cases, they don't want to follow the rules required to obtain the housing.

As to your statement regarding the luxury condos/apartments, they have built endless housing units out of old motels and homeless shelters, and they either destroy them or say they do not want to live by the rules. There was a poster here a while back stating her husband was part of a construction team that built an amazing shelter somewhere in NOVA, and they had donations from major donors, such as Nike for shoes and clothing, local restaurants to provide food, etc. They were called back to do repairs within a few months because the sinks had been kicked off the walls, spray paint all over, toilet paper holders and stall doors ripped down, trash everywhere.

Have you looked at European cities? They have barriers in place all over their cities to discourage homeless lounging on the sidewalks and in doorways.

What is it you would like your pathetic country to do that we are not doing?

Homeless Inc is BIG business. And requires a steady stream of "clients" no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Had opposite experience from PP. Had not been to NYC since the refurbished Penn Station opened and was astonished to find that the former armpit of Amtrak was now this pristine marble space age station. However, week later was at Union Station at 9:30 PM waiting on DC to arrive on train and a homeless woman was ranting---quite angrily and loudly---in a way that was unnerving and threatening to everyone in the waiting area. It took far longer than it should have for the security to intervene and calm her down.

Prior to Covid I was taking Marc and metro for a decade and this has always been an issue. One of my law school classmates was almost attacked by a homeless man in a metro train who was screaming at her crazily. I have been yelled at and spit on by people outside of union station.

The homelessness problem is out of control. The shelter a few blocks from union station kicks people out at 5 am and where else are they supposed to go all day?

There should be day shelters. They do not have the right to loiter in public/ private spaces like this.

Or better yet, DC should stop accepting everyone else's homeless. That's how many of them ended up there in the first place. Put them back on buses and send them back to where they came from.

I think the housing vouchers that pay 180% of market rate may be attracting people. There was an article where people in VA said they were in the process of getting DC ID to get in program. Seems we may be becoming Seattle or CA as a draw.

Cut off the excessive handouts. Also, let's enforce basic stuff like no hard drugs or exposing yourself in public.

[Anonymous]

If you haven’t been to Union Station since Covid started why even comment? Union Station has always had a homeless issue but I never remember dozens of tents in Columbus Circle in front of it. It has fallen off a cliff in the past two years and I avoid it at all cost past nightfall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a homelessness crisis in our nation, but nobody wants to do anything about it. Instead, everywhere you look a new luxury condo/apartment complex is being built. Our country is pathetic.

People want to do something about it, but the problems is that no one wants to do the tough measures required. NYC recently increased it budget to help the homeless to 2 Billion dollars to help the 80,000 homeless, most of it apparently going to NGOs and all of their bloated managers. In San Fran, the city directly operates homeless tent camps costing $60,000 per tent/year. There is plenty of money going to the problem.

They tried to forcibly remove the tents and encampments to make these people get help, but they were sued and now must have a hands-off approach. If you do not force change, it will not happen, and no one will forcibly remove these people and MAKE them go into centers to get help. Vagrancy used to be against the law. Now it is not compassionate and we don't care. Baloney. We care to get them off the streets and into safe, sanitary housing, but in most cases, they don't want to follow the rules required to obtain the housing.

As to your statement regarding the luxury condos/apartments, they have built endless housing units out of old motels and homeless shelters, and they either destroy them or say they do not want to live by the rules. There was a poster here a while back stating her husband was part of a construction team that built an amazing shelter somewhere in NOVA, and they had donations from major donors, such as Nike for shoes and clothing, local restaurants to provide food, etc. They were called back to do repairs within a few months because the sinks had been kicked off the walls, spray paint all over, toilet paper holders and stall doors ripped down, trash everywhere.

Have you looked at European cities? They have barriers in place all over their cities to discourage homeless lounging on the sidewalks and in doorways.

What is it you would like your pathetic country to do that we are not doing?

CA has moved back in the direction of involuntary commitment. It remains to be seen if DC and NY will follow. You can even be involuntarily committed via Telehealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a homelessness crisis in our nation, but nobody wants to do anything about it. Instead, everywhere you look a new luxury condo/apartment complex is being built. Our country is pathetic.

There are overwhelming amounts of money spent on the homeless population. Money isn’t the issue.

+1. In fact, homeless people from all over the country are streaming to DC because of our generous handouts and permissive stance on open-air drug use and public defecation. It's basically a free for all!

I have repeatedly seen both men and women defecating on the sidewalk near the Van Ness metro in broad daylight. There are multiple open and free Starbucks bathrooms steps away and free and open bathrooms in Giant. Activists will say it is a matter of public bathrooms and housing but really it is a matter of addiction, mental illness, anti-social behavior and no consequences.

The 180% of market rate housing vouchers were great for landlords and until last month, a unit rented even 1 time for a month to someone with a voucher was permanently out of rent control. The middle class and elderly often occuply rent controlled (and still quite expensive) apartments in older buildings, how many were lost to the benefit of developers and corporate landlords. During the pandemic, rents would have fallen in DC but for the 180% voucher program. Now it isn't even rental buildings using it but investors who own condos who may not even live in the US. There are not staff in condo buildings to "manage" the "newly housed" nor a mechanism in place for eviction. If the vouchers were for market rate many more could be housed and there wouldn't be inflation of rents. Follow the money and see who benefits. It's not necessarily the unhoused, who may not be provided any services (they can always refuse as well) or even an air mattress and they may soon be evicted. All of the housing programs are fantastic for developers and landlords. How many of the unhoused end up back in tents or ODing?