Homeless issue is much worse this year

pragmaticguy · December 2016

It probably won't change anything. It's a known fact that the city has neither the budget to keep building shelters and housing nor the budget to maintain what they already have. So, they will do the best they can and get sued when necessary. This incident didn't seem like an ongoing problem, just something that happened quickly and yes it's a terrible thing but I don't know that there can be anything done to prevent other mishaps in the future.

whynot_31 · December 2016

My estimates are that Coalition For The Homeless will have a "winnable position" that the city is in violation of Right To Shelter by Fall 2017.

...it should be interesting to see if they believe a lawsuit will change anything.

whynot_31 · December 2016

“There’s just no way that we’re going to be able to create sufficient apartments that are affordable to the population that is in shelter,” she said, before calling on the administration to begin thinking “outside of the box.”

http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2016/12/de-blasio-says-he-owns-homeless-crisis-but-believes-his-policies-will-help-bring-down-shelter-population-107885

mugofmead111 · December 2016

Another strike for cluster sites: Homeless Commissioner: Girls' Tragic Radiator Death Highlights Urgent Need To End Cluster Sites

whynot_31 · December 2016

15,000 supportive units in 15 years isn't going to do much to relieve the pressure on shelters.

http://shnny.org/blog/entry/press-conference-announces-task-force-recommendations-for-mayors-nyc-15-15/

whynot_31 · February 2017

Yee Hah!

Quote....

From: (redacted)
Date: February 3, 2017 at 2:13:15 PM EST
To: (redacted)

Subject: Capacity Coordinator Job at NYC Department of Homeless Services

Hello all,
Interested in Real Estate? Housing? Zoning? City budgets, contracts or procurement?

We are expanding the Capacity Planning and Development division at DHS to keep up with the growing demand for shelter.

It's more of a project management position working with landlords, non-profit providers, real estate brokers and staff throughout the Agency. We are in search of folks who are comfortable being generalists, working under pressure, and who can easily adapt to the changing nature of this industry.

Please see the attached job description to apply and let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

(Name and title redacted)

Capacity Planning and Development
NYC Department of Homeless Services

whynot_31 · February 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/nyregion/new-york-mayor-de-blasio-homeless-shelters.html

crownheightster · February 2017

Good luck, de Blasio.

whynot_31 · February 2017

No credible candidate has announced they are running against him, so we are likely stuck with a mayor of good intentions (but few accomplishments) for a while.

pragmaticguy · February 2017

Maybe the land on which the old stables for the Central Park carriage horses were housed can be built on. Oh wait, they're still there. Another campaign promise that didn't happen (thankfully).

mugofmead111 · February 2017

re:"Homeless issue is much worse this year" - I noticed that people are camping out on the ends of the Prince Street and 8th Street stations along the Broadway line now. It's a bit of a puzzling choice considering that the stations are right underneath the sidewalk and they can get drafty.

pragmaticguy · March 2017

Reports indicate that the state with the worst homelessness issue is Hawaii. It's so bad that the state is giving people permission to let the homeless camp out on their driveways. Last time I was there, about 10 years ago, I saw many people camped out on the beach.

whynot_31 · March 2017

My parents retired in Hawaii, and I visit every few years.

Yes, it has the perfect storm for creating homelessness:

1. Great weather.
2. High $ cost to leave island if you are there and broke.
3. High housing costs
4. Sympathetic Asian tourists who donate $ to beggars.
5. Very liberal social policies that prevent the police and other agencies from forcing homeless out of the tourist areas.
6. Major industry of state (tourism) pays very low wages.
7. Barely functioning drug treatment and mental health programs.

whynot_31 · March 2017

Meanwhile, the city and the advocates continue to fight over how to define and operationalize the legal right to shelter.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/nyregion/nyc-coalition-for-the-homeless-report.html

pierpont · March 2017

This opinion piece by Bob Hennelly at City & State this morning is relevant to this thread: http://nyslant.com/article/opinion/new-yorkers-continue-to-ignore-homelessness-crisis-at-our-own-peril.html

It is a bit rambly but deals with the moral responsibility of politicians and citizens to confront this new homelessness epidemic. The way he lays out the statistics is pretty stark:

In December of 1990, New York City had 20,239 people it sheltered, according to data from the Coalition for the Homeless. Eighteen years later, in 2008 it was up to 36,041. By 2014, at the start of de Blasio administration, the city was accommodating 53,615 people in its shelter system. Currently, that number is over 62,000. What’s most striking in the historical data is the radical shift in the demographics of the homeless from single adults to families and children. Consider that in 1990 the homeless overnight census average included 7,000 children. In the most recent count there were 24,000 children.