City scope: homeless in Elmhurst

New York's homeless population is rising.

More than 5,000 people are living on the streets and subways by the latest count, in January, up 6 per cent from the same time last year. There are also 53,000 people living in the city's shelters. And the situation is causing some interesting social clashes.

In the Elmhurst district of Queens, the Asian population jumped by 30 per cent from 2000 to 2010. The unsheltered homeless population in Queens has also been surging - rising 158 per cent in the past year.

To address the latter issue, the city authorities quietly turned the vacant Pan American Hotel into a homeless shelter in June. But that didn't go unnoticed by the Chinese residents and small businesses who complained the conversion had led to an increase in shoplifting and people urinating in public.

Last month, things got out of hand. The (mostly Chinese) local residents and business owners held three protests in front of the shelter, which now hosts more than 600 homeless people - mainly African-Americans and Hispanics.

The protests each drew more than 1,000 participants and the atmosphere was tense. Racial slurs were exchanged. Some protesters called the shelter "garbage" and told the homeless people to "find a job".