Why has the number of homeless New Yorkers grown so much, even as the city spends billions on housing and homeless services? One part of the answer is that over four decades there has been an ongoing and fundamental disconnect between the city’s policies on homelessness and housing.
Hundreds of thousands of New York households have fallen behind on their mortgages or property taxes during the pandemic, putting them at risk of losing their homes after statewide foreclosure protections expired earlier this month. So what exactly should homeowners do? City Limits talked with three experts for guidance.
“What we need to do is to ensure that, no matter how much money you’re making, you can access a free attorney if you’re at risk of eviction,” North Brooklyn Councilmember Lincoln Restler said during an appearance on WBAI’s City Watch Sunday.
“The solution to homelessness is housing,” one stakeholder said. “But the city agency charged with solving homelessness has no jurisdiction over housing, so we are setting them an impossible task.”
‘Currently only 25 percent of eligible households receive the housing voucher, meaning that nearly everyone in need of aid does not receive it. The impact of fully funding vouchers would be astounding: it would help an estimated 1.1 million households in New York state alone.’
‘The cost is too high not to fund safety modifications to our housing stock. Older adults who can’t afford modifications, such as grab bars or no step entrances, must choose between living in an unsafe home or moving to an institutional setting.’
With the city’s hotel shelter transfers once again imminent, City Limits reached out to nonprofit providers to talk with shelter staff and visit the buildings where the city puts up New Yorkers experiencing homelessness.
New York City lawmakers on Wednesday adopted a new $98.7 billion budget that bolsters a key rental subsidy for homeless residents and restores some funding to social service providers following last year’s cuts.
‘The right to shelter provides unshakeable protections for those who would otherwise have no choice but to sleep on the street. Threats to the right to shelter by New York mayors aren’t new—Both Giuliani and Bloomberg mounted strident challenges to modify and undo it.’
The hiring increase worries some advocates who say the data collectors could erode the crucial trust street homeless New Yorkers develop with nonprofit outreach workers who develop relationships during routine visits.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
