A luxury lighting and staging company on Manhattan’s West Side has reported a series of disturbing incidents involving a nearby homeless encampment that has been steadily growing since the business relocated there in July. Owner Bentley Meeker said the situation escalated in September, with tensions rising as the encampment expanded in front of his West 45th Street office.
The most alarming event occurred last Thursday when a woman from the encampment allegedly attempted to set fire to Meeker’s approximately $250,000 Mercedes Benz G63 SUV by wrapping a T-shirt around the side mirror and trying to ignite it with a lighter. Employees noticed the attempt and intervened, preventing the vehicle from catching fire. Following the incident, Meeker reported it to authorities. The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), with assistance from the NYPD, subsequently cleared away the makeshift shelters located directly outside the business.
Despite the cleanup efforts, Meeker expressed concerns that the encampment’s inhabitants simply relocate nearby, as was observed on Friday when they set up a new camp on West 52nd Street near Eleventh Avenue. He described the situation as a recurring "whack-a-mole" problem, noting that similar encampments have appeared and been removed multiple times over the past several months, particularly in areas adjacent to the Intrepid Museum.
City Hall’s policy requires outreach workers to engage with homeless individuals for seven days, offering shelter and services before an encampment can legally be dismantled. A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Homeless Services acknowledged the ongoing challenges in the West Side neighborhood, emphasizing the administration’s commitment to connecting homeless New Yorkers with shelter and working toward stable housing solutions.
Meeker detailed other safety concerns faced by employees, including an incident in which one was chased with a metal rod and another nearly ran over a man sleeping beneath a company truck. In the latter case, the homeless individual had constructed a shelter by fastening a tarp to the vehicle. Meeker stressed that staff members remain uneasy about coming to work due to the increasingly dangerous environment.
“What happened is, not only have they not solved the problem, but the problem is getting dangerous now,” Meeker said, reflecting the growing frustration of local business owners amid the ongoing presence of unauthorized encampments in the area.