NYC Mayor Eric Adams Tackles Homelessness Crisis by Investing Additional $171 Million to Help New Yorkers Living on Streets, Subways

(Photo : SAUL LOEB)
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Brooklyn Borough President and New York City mayoral candidate Eric Adams (C) speaks to the media alongside other local and law enforcement officials outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, July 12, 2021, after attending a meeting with US President Joe Biden about reducing gun violence. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

On Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams stated how he plans to address the city's homelessness crisis.

He stated that the city will spend an additional $171 million each year to assist people who live on the streets and in subways. The funds will be used to fund safe havens, stabilization beds, and drop-in centers that offer food, bathing, and other services. According to the mayor, this is the city's greatest investment of its sort in its history.

The Coalition for the Homeless, in a statement, termed the proposal "just a modest partial step in the right direction," adding that it "lacks any true permanent housing solutions," as per CBS News.

NYC To Increase Spending for the Homeless

The funds will be used as part of the city's aggressive strategy to remove homeless individuals from encampments and the subway system.

Adams' proposal would build on a program started by the previous mayor, Bill de Blasio, to give temporary specialized shelter beds for New Yorkers who have come off the streets - beds in high-quality facilities with more services and fewer limitations, such as no curfew. Instead of barracks-style beds, some offer individual quarters.

The plan that was presented on Sunday would increase the total number of such beds to more than 4,000, according to municipal authorities. Adams had previously announced the addition of 500 beds to the program as part of his drive to remove homeless individuals from the subways.

The project aims to make it simpler for homeless people suffering from mental illness or drug addiction to get off the streets. While the facilities vary in size, they are usually smaller than overcrowded shelters, according to the mayor's office.

The mayor is in the midst of budget discussions with the City Council and will deliver his executive budget proposal at Kings Theater in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Despite promising to do so, he has yet to present a clear housing strategy, New York Times reported.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams Aims To Combat Homelessness

The money will be included in Adams' executive budget for the coming fiscal year, which is set to be announced on Tuesday. Outreach activities to urge homeless New Yorkers to leave the streets will also be funded. According to the Department of Homeless Services, the city accommodates more than 45,000 individuals in shelters, with another 4,000 people living on the streets.

The city has demolished more than 200 homeless encampments since Adams took office on Jan.1. Authorities also tried to drive homeless people out of the subway and put them in emergency shelters. When asked for clarification, the mayor's office sent a question to the Department of Homeless Services, which said it couldn't say how many of the 700 individuals were living in shelters for the short or long term.

The raids on the camp caused anger from homeless advocates who claimed that the affected people simply moved to other parts of the city. Queens Democrat Adrienne Adams, chairman of the city council, recently demanded $ 300 million in annual housing and homeless spending, according to New York Daily News via MSN.

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