Posted on November 13, 2015 by Ben Yakas in Gothamist Gothamist, By Ben Yakas Earlier this week, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton implored New Yorkers to suppress any feelings of empathy not yet flushed out of them by NYC and stop giving money to homeless people (“One of the quickest ways to get rid of them is not to give to them”). The NY Post, always so sensitive to the plight of the homeless, latched onto the quote, and held up Will Andersen—a 43-year-old homeless man who has been panhandling in Grand Central with his 9-year-old dog Rizzo—as Public Enemy #1 on their front page. In an article produced by six professional journalists, the tabloid portrayed him as a professional moocher who was living the good life on $200/hour thanks to the generosity of a bunch of well-intentioned suckers. As with most things involving the NY Post, the reality for Andersen, like the thousands of other homeless people struggling to survive in NYC, is more nuanced than they’d have you believe.
