A few decades ago, Times Square was a symbol for the many problems New York City faced: drugs, prostitution, homelessness.
But in the past 20 years or so, sex shops have given way to family-friendly attractions, prostitutes have faded away in favor of tourists and most of the homeless have found homes.
In fact, every homeless person in Times Square has been successfully removed from the streets, save one.
Heavy — the only name he’s known to have — has lived amid the glitzy Broadway theaters, restaurants and shops for at least the past 20 years and has no intention of going anywhere, despite the best efforts of many.
“I just have this dream that all of a sudden something will snap, and he’ll say, I’d love to have housing,” said Amie Pospisil, an associate director at Common Ground, a community nonprofit that conducts street outreach, told The New York Times. “I don’t rule out that it could happen.”
But it certainly hasn’t happened yet. On the contrary, Heavy seems, well, at home in the bustling neighborhood, and typically sleeps in a cardboard box near the scaffolding of a building under construction. He has many friendly acquaintances in the neighborhood, who often give him food or money.
Heavy is the last person left out of the so-called Times Square Seven, the moniker given to the seven remaining homeless people in Times Square last summer. Eventually, they all accepted offers for housing. All except one, that is.
Now, several nonprofits are working together to help Heavy find a more permanent housing solution, a strategy that might include asking locals to stop helping support Heavy’s homelessness, despite their noble intentions.
“He’s kind of iconic,” Rosanne Haggerty, the president of Common Ground, told the Times.
“We are continuing to plug away to find the right housing solution for Heavy.”
We wish them — and Heavy — good luck in their efforts.
Photo by haloocyn via stock.xchang.