WASTING AWAY AGAIN IN AN OBAMAVILLE: Homeless Encampment Growing on West 96th Street, New York Residents Say:

A growing homeless encampment has cropped up on West 96th Street near a busy subway station and an elementary school, disturbing residents who fear it is a safety hazard.

Trash piles first appeared in June in front of 264-266 West 96th St., an abandoned subway building between Broadway and West End Avenue, and they have kept growing throughout the summer, said resident Paul Lashin.

Homeless people took up residence among the trash and added to it sometime between the summer and early fall, he said.

“I noticed that the garbage pile kept coming back, but it seemed to be more organized,” Lashin explained. “There were books and stuff stuck into the grates of this building.”

Or is it a De Blasio-ville? Why not both? In any case, as DNAinfo New York notes, “The issue of homelessness in the neighborhood reached a five-year high this summer, with locals reported encampments, panhandling and the presence of homeless people to 311 at much higher volumes.”

(H/T: John Podhoretz, who notes this camp is “10 blocks from my house.”)