Eric Adams tasks NYPD unit accused of kicking a woman with a newborn baby with ending homelessness.

Homelessness: an intractable problem. How do you fix a problem that is literally people not having homes? Make more homes? No, with police!

On Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams tweeted his appreciation for NYPD transit district 3. “It takes on the ground work to end the homelessness crisis. Good to spend some time with the team at District 3 doing that vital service.”

What expertise and experience do transit cops bring to ameliorating the public issue of homelessness? Well, in the case of this particular, unit: punching kids if they suspect their mom of not paying subway fare.

The unit has been sued three times since 2015, according to the database Capstat.

In one incident, settled for $70,000, members of the unit arrested a man for smoking a cigarette on the subway platform. Then, for reasons that are not readily apparent, they punched him until he lost consciousness and had to be taken to the hospital. He suspect (?) was charged with disorderly conduct, which was dismissed.

In another incident, a woman was taking her newborn son home from the hospital. She swiped her metro card and then opened the gate for her newborn, because the child was in a stroller. Officers approached and accused her of fare evasion. A witness told officers that the family had paid their fare. Officers ignored the information. When more people came forward in defense of the woman, officers radioed for backup.

According to the lawsuit, an officer tripped her by way of a “leg whip” and she ended up face down on the ground, where she was handcuffed as her little daughters watched, crying and insisting they’d paid the fare. Police kicked the woman several times, in the back and ribs, as she lay on the ground.

One of the girls ended up with a bloody nose. After police took their mother away, the 14 year old and 7 year old girls were left in the care of strangers on the train platform.

Yes, these are the dedicated, cool heads we want dealing with homeless people on the train.