CONTACT: Mariah McGough, mariah@vocal-ny.org

LEADING HOMELESS ADVOCATES SLAM MAMDANI’S RETREAT TO ANTI-HOMELESS POLICIES

Mamdani Walking Back Commitments on Ending Sweeps and Expanding CityFHEPS is a Mistake

NEW YORK — Today, VOCAL-NY, Open Hearts Initiative, National Homelessness Law Center, Housing Works, Coalition for the Homeless, Neighbors Together, Safety Net Activists – Urban Justice Center, Win, and Interfaith Assembly on Housing and Homelessness together express their deep disappointment in Mayor Mamdani’s reversal of campaign promises to end the inhumane policy of encampment sweeps and to move forward with the CityFHEPS expansion package. In response, the groups released the following statement:

“This new era of governance in City Hall cannot be one that continues to perpetuate the mass homelessness crisis fueled by its predecessors.  

Hundreds of thousands of our fellow New Yorkers are suffering irreversible health outcomes, economic instability, and criminalization due to decades of failed housing policies that have led to being stuck in shelters, on the streets, and doubling and tripling up with family or friends. The administration has had ample opportunities to convene a dialogue with people experiencing homelessness and other proven experts to develop person-centered evidence-based plans to provide relief and assistance to the most vulnerable among us. 

We urge Mayor Mamdani not to act like other executives, who make policy decisions in response to news headlines rather than engaging with people on the ground. By reversing campaign promises to end encampment sweeps and expand CityFHEPS, it is clear to us that the administration is not listening to those experiencing homelessness. As Safety Net Project members have pointed out, sweeps are cruel, failed policies that harm homeless people while failing to connect them to housing or resources. While the administration has said it wants to do sweeps differently, we know that there is no such thing as a “good” sweep. We were encouraged when the Mamdani administration opened up additional single rooms, Safe Haven, and stabilization beds for people on the street. These rooms helped hundreds of people come inside, including many people who had been on the street for years. The administration’s new approach was working, so this dangerous policy reversal makes no sense.

Similarly, allowing people to get evicted and languish in shelters for years because they can’t access CityFHEPS vouchers is bad policy. Shelters, which can cost as much as 10k per month per household, are far more expensive than permanent housing. What works are solutions to get people into permanent housing, by using solutions such as CityFHEPS vouchers and the thousands of vacant supportive housing apartments.  

We want to remind the administration that developing a plan to end homelessness cannot and should not be done alone. Mayor Mamdani’s administration should leverage the significant expertise of people with lived experience of homelessness as it implements its strategy to deliver on its agenda. City Hall can restore confidence that it cares about homeless New Yorkers by committing to provide them with a seat at the table and a role in decision-making. They are ready to provide feedback, insight, and guidance to City Hall and City agencies that have far too often overlooked the experience of the people they serve. 

We call on the administration, moving forward, to collaborate with organizations working on homelessness, housing insecurity, and public benefits to implement the CityFHEPS expansion, end encampment sweeps, and pursue other initiatives to end homelessness.“

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