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NYU students look across the street and find a 30-foot homeless encampment

September 22, 2026 | | Print Article

A small homeless camp has sprung up next to New York University dorms in Manhattan, according to a New York Post report.

The camp consists of “a long blue tarp covering office chairs, luggage and bicycles on the sidewalk,” according to the Post.

“Some people are nice, some people think we invade their space,” a homeless bum named Raymond, 45, told the Post, adding that he’d rather be outside than in a shelter, especially with Zohran Mamdani as mayor.

“The past mayor had the police and they just came through and took stuff,” Raymond said. “Now they ask if we are ok and need help.”

Raymond was correct.

“Mamdani’s policy for dealing with the encampments handcuffs cops, and instead sends city outreach workers to try to sweet talk and offer services to the vagrants — who often just move down the street,” according to the Post.

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“There are plenty of services out there if you want it,” another named Dave said. “This is a choice. If you wanted to be inside, you could. I have friends who froze to death over the last two winters just because they wanted to be outside.”

He too was right, according to Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute.

“I refuse to use the term homeless because that was the biggest marketing coup on the part of advocates was to brand them homeless when the problem has nothing to do with housing,” she said during a recent podcast appearance with The Daily Wire host Andrew Klavan.

“It has everything to do with mental illness, chemical abuse, and social disaffiliation. These people, frankly — I’ve spent a lot of time on Skid Row in Los Angeles, in Santa Ana, in the vagrant territories around City Hall, talking to people — they are entitled,” she added.

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“They are not gentle lambs who are out there braving the elements because they have nowhere to go,” she continued. “To be very blunt, they are obnoxious. They have a sense of [entitlement].”

As an example, she pointed to some “gutter punks” in San Francisco she spoke with, whom she said, “ride the rails up and down the West Coast to panhandle.”

“One guy who was just so offensive, I said, well, why should I give you money? He said, because you have a dollar and I don’t, therefore, I’m entitled to your dollar,” Mac Donald revealed.

“These people should not be there, but again, they have been glamorized and sanctified by the advocates who hate capitalism,” she concluded. “They want them there as visible symbols of the social injustice in the U.S. because we’re too capitalist a society.”

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All this comes as NYC’s homelessness has reportedly reached a five-year high.

“Nearly 5,000 unsheltered people were estimated to be living on streets, parks, under highways, and in subways and public transit stations across the city during an annual survey conducted in March – an astounding 45% jump from the 2022 fiscal year,” according to the Post.

Some have blamed this growth on Mayor Mamdani’s decision to end homeless encampment sweeps.

“He’s just letting them do whatever they want,” a resident named Jeanne said. “And they took away the police’s powers, so they can’t do anything about it. It’s a disaster.”

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The way it works is that once an encampment pops up, city workers must waste seven days kissing the butts of the homeless by offering them “services.” Only after the seven days have passed can the police finally move in and do something.

Vivek Saxena
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