An encampment of homeless people have taken root on the Upper West Side of New York City on Columbus Ave between West 75th and 76th Streets, outside a building's construction zone which, when finished, will house a Mermaid Inn seafood restaurant.
According to the New York Post, 44-year-old New Yorker Sean Flynn said, "What does it need to come to — a violent crime — before they take (them) off the streets?"
The co-owner of the Mermaid Inn chain and a resident of Lincoln Square, Danny Abrams, said, "I’m not looking to move them until the restaurant opens in November."
The band of homeless, usually consisting of six individuals, have a leader in a Missouri transplant named Ethan "Freckles" Schneider, 31, who said, "If you live in a building, especially in a city like New York, you’ve got to make a lot of compromises in your lifestyle to accommodate all the other fellow residents. I don’t exactly like doing that."
Schneider added that he lives by a "zero waste" lifestyle that minimizes his "use of the US dollar." He stores his bicycle in the encampment and it's adorned with signs that read "Raw Vegan Food Please" and "#Zero Exhaust."
The group of homeless has recently added a heroin addict, according to local residents, who has taken to throwing objects and shouting obscenities at those walking in the area.
A 36-year-old who lives on West 76th Street with three young sons, Prudence, said, "If I didn’t have kids I wouldn’t think much more about it, but I do and I don’t want them seeing this
44-year-old Golden Key Locksmith employee, Mark Carrillo, said, "The police and sanitation come every week … but nothing happens. These guys don’t want to go anywhere."
A NYPD spokesperson said, "The NYPD has been in lock step with the Mayor on this mental health initiative from the outset."
The spokesperson added that the police "conducts removals when appropriate."
The co-owner of the Mermaid Inn chain and a resident of Lincoln Square, Danny Abrams, said, "I’m not looking to move them until the restaurant opens in November."
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