Exploring the Issue of Homelessness in White Plains

Workers and visitors inside City Center continue to encounter the subtle underbelly of downtown White Plains.

People perceived or confirmed to be experiencing homelessness have been noticed there this summer. It’s not a new observation, instead it’s been one that’s been made for years and in different parts of the city.

What’s generated considerable attention recently is the decision in the City Center to put up a white chain across the bench next to ShopRite, the only seating in the common area.

Although City Center management wouldn’t confirm, the chain was seemingly installed to discourage loitering and to maintain order in the seating area. There are also signs stating “seating area closed” to communicate the restriction.

And the measures appear to be having the intended effect. There’s not currently a large volume of homeless people inside City Center, which is located at 5 Mamaroneck Ave. 

Yet some residents interviewed for this article believe more should be done to address the issue. 

“It’s pathetic,” said Melissa Schreiber.

She herself was living out of her car for a few months until about six months ago but had never ventured downtown.

“I think it’s worse than the South Bronx and you can quote me on that,” she added.

Yet city officials report that complaints from the City Center regarding homeless people have not increased.

They say they have been addressing the common urban challenge for years, and there’s a specialized police unit trained to handle related issues.

“We have had successes but if you talk to anyone in the business of caring for people that are in crisis, the batting average on each individual situation is not high, but as I point out to people, sometimes there are mental health issues, sometimes there’s substance misuse disorder on top of it,” said Mayor Tom Roach.

“It’s hard, but we have had stories where after weeks of talking to people, somebody said, ‘I’m ready,’ and when they say, ‘they’re ready,’ the resources are there,” he added. 

Some residents interviewed for this piece said they’ve barely noticed or not noticed the homeless people at all, or that the people keep to themselves and don’t create problems. 

However, Schreiber and other residents expressed lingering concerns and say more can be done to address the issue, believing the current shelters are inadequate, and that a new physical center should be constructed to better support the population. 

“What are we paying taxes for if we pay some of the highest in the country?” the 73-year-old Schreiber said.

Management pointed Examiner Media to Bryan McCarthy, senior vice president of marketing and communications for mall owner and operator Kite Realty Group. He did not respond to an email and a pair of calls seeking comment.

One longtime City Center worker noted how anyone who hasn’t noticed the homeless people probably doesn’t get out much and mostly sticks to their own quarters. 

“Everything outside of downtown is Leave it To Beaver. They don’t really see the Gothem-esque side of White Plains,” said Ferdinand Calairo, general manager at Apple Cinemas, who was a manager at the defunct Showcase Cinemas and Barnes & Nobles, both inside City Center.

He emphasized, though, how the City Center and the downtown are still great places to visit.

“City Center is one of the safest places and is a great place to come and see a movie. I highly recommend it to families,” he said.  

Calairo recalled occasionally seeing homeless people camp out in the attached parking garage, with some looking “disheveled,” or encountering people asking for money. But he also said it’s not an overwhelming problem.  

“I’ve been in this building for 20 years and it’s just a thing,” Calairo observed, while also expressing some concern over safety.

“I’ve got kids and want to make sure my kids are safe,” he remarked. 

Yet others express no concerns at all.

“I haven’t seen any and we honestly come here a couple times per week,” said Sam Beran, a resident who’s lived in White Plains for more than a year and has never felt unsafe.

The operators of the Open Arms and Samaritan House shelters for men and women, respectively, did not wish to immediately comment. Their facilities are the only ones listed for White Plains on the Westchester County Office of Temporary Housing Assistance and are less than a 10-minute walk from the center.

Also nearby is a soup kitchen, run by Lifting Up Westchester, at Grace Episcopal Church. A person who works closely with the organization but was not authorized to speak on the matter said he last heard it served north of 100 people, most of whom are homeless. 

Westchester County’s housing costs are notoriously high, causing some not just to seek shelter at City Center but also Tibbits Park, next to the White Plains Civil War Memorial, according to one Examiner Media reader.  

Some have camped outside the library after hours, and a News 12 report identified a parking garage location next to the Stop & Shop grocery store at 154 Westchester Ave.

Eulanda Lindsay of White Plains was among those, seemingly in the minority, feeling a little more strongly about the homeless population at City Center after a visit there, acknowledging it as a “sad” problem.

“It’s not good because some have mental problems, might attack you and it’s not safe,” she said.  

She recalled a situation of one person grabbing her cart.

Roach, for his part, pointed out how unlike larger cities, White Plains does not contend with encampments of thousands of people. 

Summer 2024 in White Plains comes as California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently ordered California state officials to remove these encampments in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling. 

Roach also noted how he and members of his team, including a recently expanded Mental Health Outreach Team, become somewhat frustrated when they hear from people who believe the city isn’t taking action. City officials work with other agencies, including through the county, to help connect people with social workers.

The mayor takes pride in the municipality’s response and emphasized how the city has always taken the issue seriously. The unit consists of two officers during the day and another two at night focused on those in crisis, focused on de-escalation, conflict resolution and intervention training. 

They approach those who appear homeless, engage them, learn about them, build a relationship with them and see what they can do to help, without simple solutions.

“This is not something that we can necessarily arrest our way out of,” said Lt. Gus Fazzino, a 25-year veteran of the department who oversees the mental health outreach team, a unit close to 20 years old. 

“Our goal is to provide services and opportunities for the homeless population as well as people in crisis, and that’s all these guys do,” he also said. “They focus on people in crisis and linking them up with services and providers and trying to keep them out of the system and trying to give them the tools to help themselves have a better life.”

It’s hard for the city to confirm how many of the people in crisis stick to White Plains as many are transient. Fazzino reported that at any one time it’s only a few “hardcore” regulars.

Roach also pointed out how the City Center is a privately-owned facility with the authority to set its own rules, allowing police to bar individuals from entering if deemed to be trespassing. 

“It’s a mall, they decide who can sit in their mall or not,” said Roach. “We have rules in our park. You can’t smoke. You can’t vape, but you can sit. So that’s up to them.”

Among the 13 activities prohibited at City Center and enforced by security, according to a posting inside the facility, is “standing or walking, individually or in groups in such a way as a to cause inconvenience to customers or sitting on floors, furniture or fixtures outside of the designated seating areas.”

One of the other recent changes inside City Center pertained to one elevator that once led to the third floor, a more isolated part of the theater. The button was deactivated when Apple opened its new theater in May. 

That closed a “thoroughfare,” according to Calairo, helped keep the flow of traffic to one entrance for safety purposes. Additionally, he said the decision was made because of people – mostly teens, but sometimes homeless people or other “troublemakers” – had taken part in other frowned upon activities like sleeping in that corridor.    

Homeless people interviewed for this article said they mind their own business and don’t cause problems. 

Marlene Halpern has been without a home on and off for the last two dozen years. 

“I’m like everybody else. They (inside City Center) treat me with respect and kindness, and I mean that,” Halpern said.

She pointed out, as she was leaving City Center, that most were like her, but “if they aren’t, they are probably a little nuts, looney.” 

Halpern noted how she follows the rules inside the shopping center. 

She also feels she was wrongly evicted from her home and hopes elected officials can do more to prioritize and address related issues. 

Businesses should make their restrooms available and residences should make their housing processes easier, she said.

“I want to live in a place. I don’t want to be a prospect, feeling like my name is being picked out of a hat and telling me ‘We’ll let you know,’” Halpern added. 

It’s not just Halpern who perceives the situation that way amongst the homeless population, hoping for more support from elected officials. 

“There are all these buildings going up and how many are for the homeless?” asked a 14-year resident of White Plains who would only identify himself as George C. and was sitting on the floor of the City Center lobby during some evening rain.

He has been without a home for approximately seven years and frequents City Center almost daily. 

Affordability was the biggest challenge at the time he had a regular stream of income. Keeping a job when he doesn’t have a place to live has also proven difficult.  

“You might make $400 per week, but where are you going really? It’s starting at $2,200 per month at The Mitchell Apartments,” he said.

George C., with a bag and backpack containing clothes, food, medication and IDs, said City Center security and visitors have treated him respectfully too. 

“They say hi. They know the homeless people by their name,” he added.