Sal Salomon, a homeless man who took up residence in one of New York City’s hotels amid the coronavirus pandemic, is sharing how he understands why residents are concerned about the situation.
Salomon said he never envisioned himself ending up in a homeless shelter.
“I never thought that I’d wind up in a homeless shelter when I was a kid,” Salomon said during an interview with CBS2’s Dave Carlin.
He detailed his experience as a teenager as he wound up in prison and turned his life around.
“When I was 19 I got locked up and I went to prison, for stealing a car. I changed my direction, got my GED, went to college while I was in jail,” Salomon said.
He later faced challenges after he lost loved ones.
“Sleeping on a bench, sleeping on a train, I totally didn’t want to live. I wound up becoming one of those people that you look at,” Solomon said.
As he turned his attention toward the homeless living in hotels, he explained he could see why residents of the city take issue with it.
“A part of me agrees with them. Who wants craziness in front of your doorstep? Help divert these funds that are going to these private companies, that are just warehousing them, and use those funds for qualified psychiatrists,” Salomon said.
A salon owner, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, and City Council member Helen Rosenthal told ABC’s Eyewitness News the homeless housed in hotels in the Upper West Side of Manhattan is proving to be an issue.
According to the Daily Mail, 20 percent of New York City’s hotels are housing the homeless.
A total of 139 of 700 hotels are being used.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) office is paying the price of $175 per person per night equating more than $2 million per night.
De Blasio indicated this will come to an end when there is a vaccine.
According to the National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins, regulators are not likely to approve any potential vaccine any earlier than November or December, as IJR previously reported.
