APB for people who keep stealing the dividers on benches at the Central Square T stop

You are too cynical. They are broken from lack of proper maintenance. You must be new around here.

When it prevents, rather than facilitates, resting?

Perhaps it should be called an arm stand?

There is something to the "hostile architecture" concerns.
There is also "something" to concerns of the public wanting to be able use the public transportation system that doesn't smell like a toilet, that they can't use a bench to sit because somebody is taking up three spots sleeping, that they can't use a bench because they don't know what was secreted by the last person sleeping there, that they don't feel safe becuase they don't know if the person sleeping on the bench is stable.
There is also "something" to wanting actual services for the homeless and/or drug-addicted and/or mentally/emotionally challenged - so they don't have to wonder, they don't have to be afraid, so that those people can get those service instead of a subway platform being the best thing - instead of the "let's send them to that island we used to have and warehouse them there" trope.

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For what it's worth, though...

"non-violent" doesn't include vandalism and theft of public property
"civil disobedience" doesn't include fleeing the scene and avoiding facing charges

People who practice actual non-violent civil disobedience put their time, identity, and reputation (and risk of criminal record) on the line to force on-the-record public examination of their actions and the circumstances. of their actions. They wouldn't be dismantling & stealing pieces of benches, or hiding from responsibility. They'd be chaining themselves to benches or turnstiles, denying that amenity or service to everyone, accepting arrest, and speaking for the record.

This? This is dilettante guerilla nuisance-making. Misplaced at best, cynical at worst.

While I am sure there are examples of hostile architecture around, this isn't one of them. Those aren't armrests, they're accessibility railings and are required by state and federal law (not to mention, they're identical to the bench railings going up on benches at Walden Pond State Reservation and presumably many other state parks around Massachusetts, where homelessness isn't an issue, the "hostile architecture" claim here rings pretty hollow.) They make previously inaccessible benches accessible to the elderly and handicapped. It is the same reason why the accessible seats on trains and buses are near the doors and have railings nearby and why handicap bathroom stalls and some bathtubs have have railings. It is so people with lower body mobility issues can lift themselves out of the seats. Benches without armrests are useless to many with mobility issues who rely on their upper body strength to lift them. I have firsthand experience with this issue, in September of 2019 I tripped and fell and broke the patellar tendons in both knees which required emergency surgery to repair both knees. The recovery required both legs to be locked in extension for several months while my tendons and scars healed and my only way around was via the T using crutches. Because I couldn't bend my knees, I relied on the T to get around, I would stand on buses in one of the accessible areas where the seats flip up, or stand near a door on the train, or in an area where there were no seats. The back seat of an Uber wasn't an option, with my legs locked in extension, sitting on the train wasn't an option because because my legs would block the aisle, the only place that I could conceivably sit was on the benches in the stations, however at that time most benches did not have the railings. If there was a long wait, I would lower myself down and then try to prop myself up with my crutches, which was no easy task, despite my being 5'11", 185 lbs and an open water swimmer for over 15 years with very good upper body strength, crutches are just not stable. There were several occasions I nearly missed my train because I couldn't get up without the help of strangers and MBTA personnel (and I really can not stress how helpful the T's employees universally were). I also fell several times when attempting to get up from benches on several occasions. These are absolutely necessary accessibility devices.

Ha ha! Who would turn them in even if they knew?

Adam is a journalist, and quite left of center. As someone who supports this direct action, it’s important to know that the police are wasting resources on it.

Focus your energy on the actual bootlickers.

"Admin" wants to draw attention to the fact it's something the police are concerned about. This way readers can be knowledgeable about the sorts of things the Transit police are doing and they can protest if they disagree with the policy.

I believe that we are responsible to help people that need help but I can't agree that they are entitled to sleep and live where ever they choose. You can't sleep in the T after it is closed. It is a safety issue. There have been fires and fatal accidents.

The T workers and police have to wake up and eject homeless people. By preventing them from sleeping on these benches, you avoid the whole confrontation.

We need to create more long term housing for homeless people instead of sabotaging people trying to do their job. What about the disabled people that need to sit? Should they be the ones that ask them to move.

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