Homeless 'tent city' in Harlem ends in arrests

New York City police arrested 10 people who refused to leave a vacant lot in a demonstration for homeless people's rights in East Harlem on Thursday. Early in the day, dozens of homeless people had occupied the lot, which is currently not being used, setting up tents and a makeshift kitchen. The "tent city", a reference to the Great Depression, was intended to temporarily house the homeless, but was also a publicity tactic, designed to draw attention to the increasingly dire crisis of homelessness. "We are here to send a message," Jean Rice, a board member of Picture the Homeless (PTH), which organized the action, told IPS. Picture the Homeless is an advocacy group founded and run by homeless and formerly homeless people. Rice says the occupation of this vacant lot represents an escalation in the housing problem that is sweeping New York City. Picture the Homeless is demanding that the City convert vacant lots and buildings into low-cost housing.