Even on a bright day, just a few rays of sunshine hit the the sidewalk beneath the Long Island Rail Road overpass on 61st Street in Woodside. Residents say the lights have been out for years—turning this stretch of sidewalk into a place where almost a dozen homeless people sleep every night.

"You can see so many people living there and suffering," said one person in the neighborhood.

Multiple residents and business owners tell NY1 they are concerned about a number of quality-of-life issues, including people going to the bathroom on the street and openly drinking alcohol. 

"Dangerous. Dangerous. Especially at night," said one person in the neighborhood.

Ezequiel Ortiz owns Puebla Restaurant, which is just down the block from the encampment. He says while he has tried to help the homeless people in the past, it’s become a deterrent for his customers and bad for business.

"It's dirty, it smells bad and sometimes, the people don’t want to come through," Ortiz said.

Council member Jimmy Van Bramer says his office is aware of the issues under the overpass, but acknowledges the challenges of helping a population who is denying help or services. 

"The truth is, it's hard to bring people in off the street for services," Van Bramer said. "Unless it's below 30 degrees, we cannot just scoop people up and remove them."

The city Department of Homeless Services says its outreach teams canvass this area at least three times a day, engaging people who may be homeless and encouraging them to accept services. Most refuse the assistance, but the department says an outreach team has been actively engaging with one homeless individual, hoping to convince this person to come in from the cold.

As for the lights, the city's Department of Transportation tells NY1 it will inspect the location. The agency adds that it has alerted the NYPD and the Department of Sanitation to issues there.