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

[Anonymous]

It’s gross. This is why when I take the train to New York, I travel out of New Carrolton.

[Anonymous]

Another woman Chinese victim of a homeless person in NY this week. When will they get the mental health services they need, and society get the protection they need? So many of the victims of these disassociated, often alcohol or drug addled homeless folks lashing out seem to be women .

[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?

They could take a shower at the shelter and get a job, you know, work.

They are severely mentally ill ranting people. Do you know anyone hiring those types? I don't.

Mentally ill as in many alcoholics or drug addicts. They are useless to society and the sooner they are institutionalized the better. Since UBI is the wave of the future, they can use their money to fund institutions that will keep them away from the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Union Station has had a homeless problem since Ronald Reagan was elected and de-institutionalized the mentally ill. The only thing that's changed in what you are reporting is that many shops in the Station have closed. So have they closed everywhere.

Then FFS let's re-institutionalize people who refuse to get treatment for severe mental illness and drug addiction. Help them and get them off the streets where they're menacing everyone else. Two birds with one stone.

That costs $$$$ and we only have $$$$ for trillion dollar jets to bomb people with.

Giggle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another OD at Union Station

Did he survive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s gross. This is why when I take the train to New York, I travel out of New Carrolton.

Maybe it helps Amtrak sell upgrades? The last time I was taking the train from Union Station (pre-pandemic) was supposed to take a MARC train and wound up buying a much more expensive Amtrak ticket because I could not find anywhere to wait that was not within smelling distance of an unshowered person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s gross. This is why when I take the train to New York, I travel out of New Carrolton.

Maybe it helps Amtrak sell upgrades? The last time I was taking the train from Union Station (pre-pandemic) was supposed to take a MARC train and wound up buying a much more expensive Amtrak ticket because I could not find anywhere to wait that was not within smelling distance of an unshowered person.

It just occured to me, they are replacing "homeless" with "unhoused" not because the meaning is different or classier, but it works well with "unemployed" or "unemployable" due to being "mentally unwell".

When I read "unshowered" it all became clear. There will be more new made up "un" words to come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s gross. This is why when I take the train to New York, I travel out of New Carrolton.

Maybe it helps Amtrak sell upgrades? The last time I was taking the train from Union Station (pre-pandemic) was supposed to take a MARC train and wound up buying a much more expensive Amtrak ticket because I could not find anywhere to wait that was not within smelling distance of an unshowered person.

It just occured to me, they are replacing "homeless" with "unhoused" not because the meaning is different or classier, but it works well with "unemployed" or "unemployable" due to being "mentally unwell".

When I read "unshowered" it all became clear. There will be more new made up "un" words to come.

Can't forget "unstable."

[Anonymous]

^ "unincarcerated"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ "unincarcerated"

[Anonymous]

"Unclothed"
"Unclean" (from drugs)

[Anonymous]

unaccountable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:unaccountable?

As my Yankee grandmother would say: "no account."

[Anonymous]

I took a train from Union Station yesterday. First time in a while. I was stunned at the homeless encampment in the circle out front. Stunned. WTH?? Why is the city letting an essential traveler/tourist site turn into homeless village in plain site?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gosh this thread is making me feel better about turning down a job over between Union and Judiciary. I really would have loved it, but I spent some time over there to test the commute, and I felt really unsafe. It was late afternoon, some of the streets were pretty desolate, and there were more than what I expected in terms of people seeming to be really ill or addicted (e.g., shirtless and screaming in the street and blocking traffic). I used to work over in the area about 10 years ago, and it was on its way up. This was my first time over there in probably five years, and I was really shocked. I thought about how I’d commute after dark, and I just thought it would be kind of nerve-wracking given my gender and size. But I really would have loved the job, and I can honestly say the main reason I turned it down was not wanting to work in that area after seeing it. The whole thing is really sad. People really need medical help, like long-term, consistent, quality help, and they aren’t getting it. They need homes too, for sure, but it seems to me the medical help needs to come first or concurrently. Ignoring this aspect of the issue doesn’t seem humane to me, but what do I know, I guess.

My office is near union station and my colleagues talk if a time where they had to take a shuttle to the metro station after dark because it was so unsafe. In the time I was commuting in the years leading up to the pandemic I never had any issues but I had to go a couple times recently and the area is deserted and feels deteriorated. I spent the extra few minutes walking to the NoMA station for the return trip.