Passersby on the Upper West Side walked over a homeless man on Tuesday—until someone finally realized he was dead.
The man, who had no identification on him when EMTs arrived, was found around 9:20 a.m. Tuesday at on 72nd Street, between Broadway and West End Avenue, in front of Westsider Records. He was wearing shoes with no laces that were held together by several socks, and found lying facedown on the steps. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
FedEx worker Nini Lamont told the Daily News that one woman was very shaken by observing people walking over him: "She was upset, saying, 'How can people walk over him like that?'" she said. "I think he was there for a little while."
Bruce Eder, owner of Westsider, told the NY Post there is a large homeless population in the area: "There’s a food bank down the street open five days a week. They get the stuff from the food bank, and they congregate here up and down the street. No one has any shelter in this city."
The cause of death is still being determined, but some speculated the man had been outside in the freezing cold Monday evening. "It's horrible, a night like last night,” Eder told the News. "Anyone in that condition should had been picked up and put in a shelter."
The Department Of Homeless Services recommends that if you see anyone in the streets who appears to be homeless, you should submit the information by calling 311 or using 311 Online. You can find more information about homeless outreach here.
