Honest talk about a profound problem
The Daily News Editorial Board, pointing to recent conflict, wrongfully asserted that my administration has made shelters too accessible — yet offered no real proposal on how to protect those on the edge of homelessness. Unfortunately, this position has consequences that are more than theoretical: It undermines our work to move vulnerable New Yorkers from the streets, to shelter and then to permanent, affordable housing.
In fact, homelessness started growing rapidly in 2011 when the former city administration and the state stopped providing rental assistance. Anyone trying to rent an apartment since that time knows the truth: Rents have skyrocketed, but incomes have not. That’s why last year half a million households fell behind on the rent. That’s why one in three families who rent pay more than half their earnings on housing costs.
The homelessness crisis in New York City is real because hundreds of thousands of families are one lost job, one medical emergency or one unforeseen incident away from losing their homes.
Yet according to critics, if the city broke the law that mandates that we provide shelter when needed, people would magically cease becoming homeless — as if the stress and uncertainty of living in a shelter is really a tempting option for those with other choices. The News doesn’t explain how these people will pay rent and avoid ending up on the street.
Yes, by law, New York City must provide shelter to the homeless. And, yes, as a progressive administration, we also believe there’s a moral obligation here, and that taking people off the street and placing them on a path to affordable housing represents who we want to be as a city.
My administration is doing more than ever to help people exit or avoid shelter, and move toward permanent housing: l Since the start of our rental assistance programs in 2014, we’ve moved more than 45,000 people out of shelters and back into their own apartments. l Emergency rental assistance has helped some 390,000 people stay in their homes. l We’ve implemented a tenfold increase in funding for lawyers in housing court from $6.4 million in 2013 to $62 million. It’s helped reduce evictions by 24%. l We’ve already financed the construction of more than 17,000 new affordable apartments, and rehabilitated and preserved the affordability of almost 36,000 existing apartments. l We are assisting and supporting households that are overcrowded, including providing incentives and other help to make their living arrangements work, wherever possible. l We are working to keep homeless New Yorkers in the shelter system close to their support networks, like schools and churches. This is especially important for families with children.
Homelessness is a national problem that reflects our growing income inequality, and it’s exacerbated by state and federal failures to support the creation of more affordable housing. Still, New York City is taking this issue head-on through aggressive measures meant to keep people from becoming homeless, and to transition those who are homeless into housing as soon as possible.
But if you listen to those who would oppose the placement of shelters in their communities, many of whom also oppose affordable housing development, you might walk away with the impression that homeless people don’t already live all around us. They do.
Approximately 70% of the people in shelter are families with children; 23,000 are children themselves, many younger than 6. Although many homeless adult heads of household are working, these families overall experience unique problems such as higher rates of school absenteeism.
People in our shelters come from every single one of the city’s community districts. Demonizing them — claiming they are criminals and threats to communities — is not only inaccurate, it is a fearmongering tactic being used to justify not helping them. We as a city are better than that. To be clear, we don’t like renting rooms in commercial hotels to shelter families. We know that shelter spaces are better equipped. But until we can open more shelters as a bridge to affordable housing, we have no choice. Attempting to block us from using hotels now — or opening shelters in the future — leaves families with no alternative but the street. And no one wants that.