Another NYC homeless encampment cleared out

NEW YORK - New York City police officers and sanitation workers cleared out another homeless encampment on Wednesday as part of the mayor's plan to try to get unhoused people into shelters while also making sure residents and visitors "can enjoy the clean public spaces."

The NYPD and DSNY showed up at a sidewalk encampment underneath scaffolding on East 9th Street near Avenue B in the East Village's Alphabet City late Wednesday morning and asked the occupants and protesters to move out.

Protesters stood in and around the small encampment and chanted, "Housing is a human right — let people live," "care not cops," "housing for all," "how much money does this cost," and more.

Over a loudspeaker, police warned that officers would arrest anyone who got in the way of the sanitation workers. 

And they did. Officers handcuffed several people and loaded them into a police van. The NYPD said cops arrested one homeless person and seven protesters for obstructing governmental administration. 

In the meantime, sanitation workers tore down signs, pulled out tents, and gathered boxes and belongings and tossed them in the compactor of a garbage truck.

Mayor Eric Adams has said the sweeps of the encampments are about the "dignity" of homeless people.

"I have said since we started this initiative that every New Yorker deserves dignity, and we are demonstrating that this is possible," Adams said in a statement. "Our teams are working professionally and diligently every day to make sure that every New Yorker living on the street knows they have a better option while ensuring that everyone who lives in or visits our city can enjoy the clean public spaces we all deserve."

Since city workers began aggressively clearing encampments in mid-March, 39 people have accepted placement in shelters, according to City Hall.