Video: Man who gave homeless man shirt off his back on NYC subway recognized by governor

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The New York City man who literally gave the shirt off his back, along with a hat, to a homeless man on a subway car was recognized by the governor during his annual State of the State speech.

It came up Wednesday when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo started talking about the homeless epidemic plaguing our streets.

"New Yorkers are troubled by the homeless problem. Why? Because we're a caring, loving people," said Gov. Cuomo.

And then he introduced Joey Resto, whose helpful gesture was captured on camera.

"Let's give Joey Resto a big round of applause for being a Good Samaritan," Cuomo said.

(click on the video player above to see the governor's recognition of Resto)

Resto, 23, gave a homeless man his shirt on a Downtown A train last Friday night in Washington Heights.

All of the other passengers sat far away because of the odor. Resto, however, sat right in front of the man and immediately he was overcome with compassion.

"It was freezing that night. He looked cold and hungry," said Resto.

Watch video of his kind gesture that another subway rider captured here:

The video has since gone viral on Facebook, having been watched more than 14 million times.