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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is DC going to be the next SF? How incredibly sad.

Have you forgotten the 80s? DC was the original SF.

I remember when there were tents set up over the vents on the National Mall back in the 80s, and half of DC was unsafe after dark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has been the case for at least 20 years.

Try 40+ years. It’s been like that as long as I can remember.

Your memory is failing you. After the renovation, Union Station was stunning in the late 1980s and 1990s, as many people have recalled on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm shocked that its been 6 pages and nobody has brought up the Union Station mens bathroom hook-up stories...

I can't imagine a worse place to hook up

[Anonymous]

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? Did they miss the day when houses were distributed?

These people are either mentally ill, drug addicts, or both. They belong in residential treatment (with strict rules) or an institution.

[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.

It’s a combination of two issues:

1) no affordable housing due to the urban boom over the past 20 years combined with Hope Vi getting rid of the awful old housing projects but not replacing them with low density affordable housing or section 8 vouchers. Cities are the victims of their own success. The area by nats park used to be an enormous housing project that covered many blocks. Where do you think all those people went to when they built the park and the cute bars and fancy high rise apartments?

2) the opioid/meth/fetanyl crisis. Thank the Sacklers for this, and the Chinese fetanyl producers. A lot of these people have brains that may be permanently fried, plus we really don’t have good rehab options for these addictions. I have a friend who works in addiction treatment and this is so far beyond the usual coke-type addictions they used to deal with.

We need a complement of different policies to deal with both of those issues.

Also thank legalizing weed: dealers moved to meth and fentanyl, with tragic consequences.

[Anonymous]

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.

This didn't happen. Progressives pushed de-institutionalization because "rights"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has been the case for at least 20 years.

Try 40+ years. It’s been like that as long as I can remember.

Your memory is failing you. After the renovation, Union Station was stunning in the late 1980s and 1990s, as many people have recalled on this thread.

+1
It was gorgeous in the 1990s and a destination for us whenever we went "downtown." No more.

[Anonymous]

Urine smells and a homeless problem. Sounds like Pelosi’s office.

[Anonymous]

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.

This didn't happen. Progressives pushed de-institutionalization because "rights"

And it happened during Reagan’s tenure because… progressives have magic powers of hypnosis?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has been the case for at least 20 years.

Try 40+ years. It’s been like that as long as I can remember.

Your memory is failing you. After the renovation, Union Station was stunning in the late 1980s and 1990s, as many people have recalled on this thread.

+1
It was gorgeous in the 1990s and a destination for us whenever we went "downtown." No more.

The bathrooms have always been disgusting -- even when Union Station was in its second "prime."

[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.

This didn't happen. Progressives pushed de-institutionalization because "rights"

And it happened during Reagan’s tenure because… progressives have magic powers of hypnosis?

You know Republicans have really and truly jumped the shark when Saint Reagan's policies are too ~progressive~

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This didn't happen. Progressives pushed de-institutionalization because "rights"

And it happened during Reagan’s tenure because… progressives have magic powers of hypnosis?

You know Republicans have really and truly jumped the shark when Saint Reagan's policies are too ~progressive~

I'm not sure what point you are making. Reagan was a great president, esp vis a vis the cold war. Pretty much everyone agrees de institutionalization as well as the immigration amnesty we're a mistake. Kind hearted, but still huge mistakes with lasting repercussions.

[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?

🙌🏻 Exactly! Thank you.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This has been the case for at least 20 years.

Try 40+ years. It’s been like that as long as I can remember.

Your memory is failing you. After the renovation, Union Station was stunning in the late 1980s and 1990s, as many people have recalled on this thread.

Even back in the 2010s it was pretty nice. Now I wouldn't go there alone as a petite female.