I am not sure if it was the outreach team or the other religious charity that helps the homeless....but a couple of years ago....on a wickedly cold night....they approached me asking if i needed help or a place to stay.


It was so embarrassing...i was just waiting for the never on time number 10 bus. :(

Agreed this more than just Teddy.

However, I have a much different view of him. One day, a few years ago on a weekend, I was on the train coming from 33rd street and we were doing the turn around at Hoboken. While we were waiting for the train to depart, Teddy comes on and is getting set up to start his con. Another guy who is standing next to him realizes that the jabber is about to begin and he lets out a sigh. Teddy hears him and starts going off. Starts getting into it with the guy about how he has a right to be on the train, etc. What a jerk.

I don?t mind Teddy. At some point a few months ago, his health definitely dipped - but then he seemed to bounce back. Not the same Teddy as 20 years ago when I first started riding PATH - but this could also be said of me, or any of us.

A couple years ago, I saw an extremely drunk, emotionally distraught woman try to provoke Teddy into a fight on the train during the evening rush. It was an ugly scene, but Teddy showed restraint... he earned some extra respect from me that day.

That said, my sense is, this pissing match between JC and the PA isn?t about Teddy, it?s about the homeless people who congregate in & around JSQ. I hope said pissing match does not hinder delivery of services to these folks.

I must be in the minority, but I couldn't stand Teddy. He hustled people and was generally obnoxious. After a long day of work, the last thing I was to hear is his con.

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I think you are probably right. There might not be an "official" stance on him, but I am sure that informally they don't bother or roust him because the guy is genuinely harmless, and really not much of a bother at all. He doesn't intimidate people into giving, nor is he pushy about it. He walks through the cars, saying his lines, and moves right along. Every now and then, a person will give him some food or money and that's that.

The only other time I saw anything remotely close to Teddy on PATH was about 2 years ago when a younger guy put his open guitar case on the ground and began strumming. He was shut down in about 30 seconds by the conductor. He was an amateur on multiple levels -- he tried to pull this off in the second car in clear view of the conductor.

Teddy is smooth because he walks and talks, and if you're watching from another car or on a camera, it's hard to see that he's saying anything at all.

I'm pretty sure Teddy was "grandfathered" in by the PAPD. Teddy is just about the only person I have ever seen on the trains begging for money, in contrast to the numerous panhandlers and performers on the city subway.

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Hands off Teddy! The guy has transcended his station in life... He is no longer a homeless bum, he's JC's own ambassador and welcoming committee.

But, seriously, the last time I saw the guy (quite a few months ago) he looked pretty unsteady and having a hard time walking through the train rattling off his usual lines.

Teddy has been evading the PA police for the past 20+ years. In his current less that robust health he's still working the trains.

"the Port Authority is literally the most dysfunctional executive leadership I have encountered." - Steven Fulop

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