Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces new policy to address homeless encampments across NYC
The mayor said daily outreach will allow DHS workers to build trust with people living in encampments before connecting them to services.
More Stories
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday a new policy to address homeless encampments across the city.
Mamdani said that the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) will oversee any sweeps in the city - not the NYPD.
The mayor said the responsibility better aligns with the work DHS does with providing services and support.
This comes after Mamdani’s administration paused the previous program in January and said it wanted to develop a policy that would produce better outcomes.
Mamdani said the new approach is “far different.”
“Unlike in the past administration, where much of the interaction with a homeless New Yorker was defined by the first day when you’d provide a notice, and the seventh day when you’d initiate a sweep; in our administration, every single day of that time period will be characterized by outreach,” said Mamdani.
The mayor said daily outreach will allow DHS workers to build trust with people living in encampments before connecting them to services.
Homeless advocates, like Kathryn Kliff with the Legal Aid Society, said they’re disappointed that the mayor switched gears about getting rid of encampments.
“We feel that the administration is caving to political pressure,” said Kliff.
Kliff added that sweeps do not work.
“People go back to the same spot, or they go to even more dangerous places,” said Kliff.
“I’m glad that [Mamdani made the new policy], but it is not enough,” said Councilmember Inna Vernikov (R-48th District). “We need to do a lot more.”
A homeless encampment sits near the Belt Parkway in Sheepshead Bay, which is within Vernikov’s district.
“They deserve to have a proper home,” said Vernikov. “They deserve to have a hot meal. They deserve to have medication that they may need.”
She added that there should still be an NYPD presence while DHS responds, because some encampments may bring sanitation issues, drugs, and crime.
“Not good for the community and not good for the homeless individuals,” said Vernikov.
Mamdani said the preliminary budget increased funding so that the outreach could be sustainable over the course of seven days.
