By any measure, New York City’s homelessness crisis broke every record during the final year of the Bloomberg administration. The already record-high homeless shelter population soared even higher, to more than 50,000 people per night. The number of homeless children bedding down in municipal shelters eclipsed historic levels, exceeding 20,000 for the first time in history.
When the Coalition for the Homeless released “State of the Homeless 2013” one year ago, the number of homeless men, women and children sleeping in the New York City shelter system on any given night could nearly fill Yankee Stadium – with just a few hundred seats to spare. Today, even Yankee Stadium isn’t big enough: The number of homeless New Yorkers would not only fill every seat in the stadium, but some 1,300 more would be left outside to stand.
As a result of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s disastrous homeless policies and New York City’s worsening housing affordability and income inequity, Mayor Bill de Blasio has inherited a homelessness crisis unthinkable just a few years ago. Fortunately, the new administration can invest in solutions proven to reduce New York City’s still-escalating homeless population – building upon the crucial steps already taken by the mayor and his key officials to protect homeless children and families from harm.