NJ Transit officials eye new housing as solution to homelessness at Newark Penn Station

New Jersey Transit officials announced a new initiative on Wednesday that aims to reduce the homeless population at Newark Penn Station by building new housing options near the train hub.

Transportation leaders said they’re partnering with local elected officials as well as a group of corporations to spend $6 million to renovate 200 apartments near the station into transitional housing for homeless people. The transit agency also announced plans to build a new drop-in center down the street from Newark Penn where people can rest, shower and get something to eat.

“Instead of washing up in Penn Station's bathroom, they get to go up the street and take a shower and wash their clothes and get services and treatment not too far from here,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said during a news conference.

NJ Transit President Kris Kolluri said there are a little more than two dozen homeless people who are constantly in Newark Penn, and who he hopes will move to one of the 200 units of transitional housing that will be offered as part of the new program, which officials dubbed the “Gateway to Hope.”

“ These are human beings who need service, who need help, and our objective in working with all these partners is to make sure we come up with a pathway to make sure they're handled appropriately and that they're taken care of,” Kolluri said. “ So this station is not their last resort because this is all they can find, but this is a place they will eventually, hopefully come to, to go to work or to be with their family.”

The initiative comes as transit officials in New York City continue to struggle with homeless and mental health crises that have taken root in the subway system. Officials in the Trump administration have threatened to withhold funding if the MTA doesn’t do more to improve the situation.

Kolluri acknowledged that many homeless people who end up at Newark Penn cycle back and forth with New York City, and said outreach workers in New Jersey coordinate with teams across the Hudson River.

Last year, the MTA and NYPD established programs to involuntarily remove mentally ill people in New York’s transit system. Luis Ulerio, director of the Newark Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services, said his team had no plans to create a similar program.

”We're not there yet, but I think that it's about building relationships, trust,” Ulerio said. “ I think what's important is that they're [NJ Transit] actually taking the lead on this and not sweeping it under the rug.”

Ulerio said the new housing would be prioritized for Newark residents, people who can show they’ve lived there recently, or have gone through the health care system in the city.

“Two years ago, we did declare that we would end chronic homelessness and have introduced so many innovative initiatives,” he said. “I think that speaks to how important this is and how big this vision is.”