Major urban cities in the US have been run using redistribution policies for decades with predictably poor results, Baltimore, Detroit, Atlanta, New Orleans, etc. New York has been on a steady improvement until De Blasio stepped in. The decline in quality of life can already be felt. We need another mayor
8
Seems to be a lot of Republican 'the hell with the homeless' sentiment here.
All I can hope for, as a Christmas wish if you like, is that they get to experience being homeless someday.
All I can hope for, as a Christmas wish if you like, is that they get to experience being homeless someday.
5
Patrick Aka Y. B. Normal-
Your "The really dangerous people are the cops looking for another excuse to prey on humans."
True story:NYC Last April 2014.
I ate breakfast at Theater Row restaurant.
Impossible for me to finish so I packaged pancakes, syrup, butter and bacon into a take-out container, put it into a plastic baggie and walked towards 8th/42nd looking for a homeless person who might want/need the food.
Seeing a policeman leaning against the Duane Reade on the corner, I approached him and held aloft the baggie as I explained, asking where I might find such a person.
Immediately a short Serpico-appearing man approached and I heard him say to the policeman something about "Bellevue".
The policeman was saying "No, no she wants to give some food…"
as I said "Bellevue? You want to take me to Bellevue?"
'Serpico' backed away taking the food baggie with him.
Close encounter of the dangerous kind: drug/mental health/homeless providers-for-profit needing a body-count to collect.
Your "The really dangerous people are the cops looking for another excuse to prey on humans."
True story:NYC Last April 2014.
I ate breakfast at Theater Row restaurant.
Impossible for me to finish so I packaged pancakes, syrup, butter and bacon into a take-out container, put it into a plastic baggie and walked towards 8th/42nd looking for a homeless person who might want/need the food.
Seeing a policeman leaning against the Duane Reade on the corner, I approached him and held aloft the baggie as I explained, asking where I might find such a person.
Immediately a short Serpico-appearing man approached and I heard him say to the policeman something about "Bellevue".
The policeman was saying "No, no she wants to give some food…"
as I said "Bellevue? You want to take me to Bellevue?"
'Serpico' backed away taking the food baggie with him.
Close encounter of the dangerous kind: drug/mental health/homeless providers-for-profit needing a body-count to collect.
Homeless in NYC, pan handlers can make over 100K per year tax free, they have no reported income, and live in boxes, but most are richer than the people who work there.. Honestly, just leave them alone..
1
Bill is showing "Urgency on the Homeless" while working to make middle class New Yorkers homeless themselves?
Sad.
Sad.
5
Before we go putting a bandage on the problem, we need figure out the root cause. Inequality and the lack of employment opportunities. We disservice our communities if we do not address the bigger issue, and for those that think poverty is something someone raises their hands to choose, I encourage you to step out your comfort zone and talk with someone less fortunate. Ask them questions, you may find lawyers, stock brokers, teachers, electricians, and plumbers are just a few examples. Therenis a false sense of privilege and entitlement that some people have allowed to shape their lenses. Look through your empathetic lense and help create equality for all. Feom birth no one apires to eat out trash cans and sleep on the streets. The leaders need to implement programs that educate and value all lives, not just the few.
The headline should read "A billion dollar budget looking for a solution to homelessness"
New York City, as best as I can determine, spends more money on providing services to the homeless than any other city in the world. The 2016 budget added another $121.6 million to make the total FY2016 budget $1.07 billion dollars.
To put the number in perspective that is $2,9 million every day, $122,887 every hour, $2,048 per minute. In just 4.5 year of this level of spending we will have spent as much as the total cost for the current Second Avenue subway expansion or the new Tappan Zee Bridge.
It is a enormous commitment by the city to spend a fortune on a problem that has metastasized under di Blasio administration. The spending is up, and the homeless have retaken Grand Central, are setting up encampments in our parks, and a raving in the streets.
This is the most significant issue facing the proof that di Blasio style liberalism can actually solve a problem. More money is not the problem, the city has billions to work with, now SOLVE THE PROBLEM in your first term or admit that you have no real understanding of how a modern city can thrive with your vision of spending and good government.
The people have already more than met the mandate by providing you a flush coffer of billions to solve the problem.
New York City, as best as I can determine, spends more money on providing services to the homeless than any other city in the world. The 2016 budget added another $121.6 million to make the total FY2016 budget $1.07 billion dollars.
To put the number in perspective that is $2,9 million every day, $122,887 every hour, $2,048 per minute. In just 4.5 year of this level of spending we will have spent as much as the total cost for the current Second Avenue subway expansion or the new Tappan Zee Bridge.
It is a enormous commitment by the city to spend a fortune on a problem that has metastasized under di Blasio administration. The spending is up, and the homeless have retaken Grand Central, are setting up encampments in our parks, and a raving in the streets.
This is the most significant issue facing the proof that di Blasio style liberalism can actually solve a problem. More money is not the problem, the city has billions to work with, now SOLVE THE PROBLEM in your first term or admit that you have no real understanding of how a modern city can thrive with your vision of spending and good government.
The people have already more than met the mandate by providing you a flush coffer of billions to solve the problem.
10
Worst.
Mayor.
Ever.
Mayor.
Ever.
11
Homelessness in NYC and the US will get worse and worse. It's hard enough for people who work, and far worse for the homeless. NYC is becoming a golden ghetto, with the wealthy at the center and everybody down the chain further out. There will never be a solution to this. The US is bad for human beings.
The Upper West Side from 66th to 96th has essentially become one big homeless encampment. They have taken over virtually every block and any vacant storefront (which now proliferate in the neighborhood, and one cannot help but wonder if declining quality of life is to blame for some of it), and they spend their days loitering and harassing passers-by for change or beer.
Until de Blasio can get some kind of handle on it, I am really not that interested in listening to his grand plans to rid the country of income inequality and provide "affordable housing" in the most expensive city in the country.
First, get the bums off the street. Then maybe we'll talk.
Until de Blasio can get some kind of handle on it, I am really not that interested in listening to his grand plans to rid the country of income inequality and provide "affordable housing" in the most expensive city in the country.
First, get the bums off the street. Then maybe we'll talk.
8
This isn't Marshall Law.
The city has a stellar record of providing due process and has no record of abusing people's civil rights. Kalief Browder didn't kill himself after being sent to rikers for 3 years without being charged. Not everyone who is put in the mental health is legally precluded from challenging their incarceration. Those who can afford it can hire a lawyer or visit one of handful of legal aide workshops.
The city has a stellar record of providing due process and has no record of abusing people's civil rights. Kalief Browder didn't kill himself after being sent to rikers for 3 years without being charged. Not everyone who is put in the mental health is legally precluded from challenging their incarceration. Those who can afford it can hire a lawyer or visit one of handful of legal aide workshops.
3
Creating more affordable housing will only help solve the problem of avoiding the creation of more homeless people from those who can't afford skyrocketing rent. The mentally ill and drug or alcohol addicted need to be treated by the Federal government. My neighbor used to be a social worker charged with finding the homeless housing and jobs. He quit due to burn out. He said the majority would keep the job for about 6 weeks, trash the apartment and be back on the street. This was 18 years ago and the problem has changed to more families becoming homeless rather than due to substance abuse and they need and deserve help. Back then there was a homeless resident on my corner for several years who wintered in Miami--no kidding. NYC has tried to house the homeless, but high rents compound the problem.
7
de Blasio has had his share of missteps in his first two years as mayor. But it is certainly hopeful that he is finally offering a more robust plan to combat homelessness in NYC.
My main point is that Cuomo seems more of an obstacle than a partner to confronting problems in the city. I am really beginning to dislike this guy. de Blasio is not innocent either.
People are angry that Washington can't function because of petty bickering, turf wars and ideology. Democrats - get your act together and solve problems for people!
My main point is that Cuomo seems more of an obstacle than a partner to confronting problems in the city. I am really beginning to dislike this guy. de Blasio is not innocent either.
People are angry that Washington can't function because of petty bickering, turf wars and ideology. Democrats - get your act together and solve problems for people!
3
You voted for him, you got him. I can see it now, the centerpiece promise of his reelection campaign "I promise to throw even more of your money in a second term at the homeless problem, I know it will only attract more homeless from outside the city to the freebies being thrown at them in NYC but it will make me feel good inside, and I believe it will make you feel good inside too, assuming, of course, that you are a liberal democrat like me."
8
The homeless are less than 1% of the population. At what point do we draw the line, stop wasting money, and leave them to their fate? I think we are far past that point.
2
WHY is it going to take 6 months to provide safe-haven beds...can't the factory ramp up a little faster than that?
Would you have the same feeling if it were your self or family in a homeless situation? Everything cannot be based on numbers. That 1% are men, woman, children, families, relatives of others. The solution is not always pouring more money either. The country needs to address the root causes, and concentrate on programs that re-educate people, freeing them from learned ignorance. positioning individuals for self care, and helping them get back on their feet. Those with mental illness need to be dealt with accordingly and everyone involved in the solution needs to be trained, educated, empathic, and committed to their part.
2
Google "George Carlin" and "War on Homelessness". All ya need to know.
3
While homelessness is a feature of all our major cities, nothing says more about the dark side of America than the sensory assault of Times Square juxtaposed against the huddled bodies of men, women and children lying on concrete streets--exposed.
7
Mayor de Blasio was very vocal and critical of others who were in a position of responsibility. Now that he is in a position of power and responsibility, de Blasio has spent two years denying there was a problem, claiming it was getting better and Blaming others like Mayor Bloomberg. Mayor de Blasio and his supporters (who can forget his inaugural?) claim they came into office with a mandate to change things, yet it seems they made the homeless problem worse. Remember, President Obama has improved the economy to such an extent that unemployment is down to record low levels, and health care is available to all under ObamaCare. The New York City economy has been booming and tax receipts are at record levels. Yet, de Blasio does not seem to be able to do anything.
16
back when president Eisenhower was still in charge, i ran away from home - standing on the freeway outside Buffalo in one of those steady november rains, i was headed for New York city (i can't exactly say why even now) ...
every once in awhile i consider what my life might have been like if i had made it all the way there - how little my life would have been worth / how little other lives would have meant to me -
whatever it was which kept me out of that sewer, i'm grateful
every once in awhile i consider what my life might have been like if i had made it all the way there - how little my life would have been worth / how little other lives would have meant to me -
whatever it was which kept me out of that sewer, i'm grateful
3
The more shelter and services provided to the homeless could be an invitation for the poor to come to NYC. Still, we must ignore that possibility and do all we can to provide shelter, service, education, and the jobs that could be filled by the educated. Really, it is a federal problem. The number of homeless is overwhelming. Laws requiring landlords to provide affordable housing, and employers to pay a living wage might do more to alleviate the problem than the proposal of the city building a certain number of housing units. Those apartments will be filled in a flash and not accommodate the majority living on the streets. At the same time drug and alcohol dependency needs to be addressed, but there are some whose despair is too deep to be rehabilitated.
5
More laws? Really? Think about where that leads us. What's next, stores that are required to carry moderately priced clothes? How about food, making delis, supermarkets and restaurants prepare low cost nutritious fare. And perhaps the line of work you do, being mandated to perform a certain portion of the day at a lower cost to ensure your goods or services can be afforded by those of modest means.
2
By the way y'all, before anyone sets the standards too high for our mayor, I'd like them to answer this. Which mayor in America thus far has solved homelessness in their city? Thanks for thinking about it.
7
The standard isn't too high, Dan. It's certainly not "solving homelessness." For most, the standard is to get back to where they were when Bloomberg left office.
4
Bloomberg devised some great ways for us not to be confronted with these undeserving homeless: Paying for one-way tickets:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/mayor-defends-one-way-ticke...
And closing down homeless housing and support programs:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/mayor-defends-one-way-ticke...
As promised, the Blasio is willing to take responsibility, and so should we.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/mayor-defends-one-way-ticke...
And closing down homeless housing and support programs:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/mayor-defends-one-way-ticke...
As promised, the Blasio is willing to take responsibility, and so should we.
10
People come to NYC to move into shelters.
Does anyone really think that behavior should be encouraged?
Does anyone really think that behavior should be encouraged?
5
HOMELESS CRISIS, Mental Health Crisis. A large proportion of homeless persons nationwide suffer from severe mental illness. One initiative that will help alleviate homelessness is enrolling homeless persons in Obamacare, wherever possible. NYC would be a good place to begin. That goes for the mentally ill, previously homeless, who have been imprisoned for crimes related to their illness. Our medical understanding of mental illness has shifted from the sound-mind-in-sound-body model, with us since the times of ancient Rome, to our current understanding of brain science, where the brain is an organ of the body, whose functions can be understood as the functions of any other part of the body. The mind-body duality has ended. In theory, there was supposed to be parity between mental and physical health treatment. Part of the treatment means finding medical resources for the homeless, along with seeking shelter for them. While we're at it, we could economize on services for the mentally ill by getting then placed in community-based programs--those who are incarcerated for nonviolent crimes. Along with shelter, let's try some love, medicine and miracles for the homeless. Without medical care, street people will return to a state of homelessness, as mental illness often involves poor judgment and lack of insight.
1
Thank goodness Mayor de Blasio is getting rid of the homeless rather than the horses. I voted for him based on his decades-long commitment to affordable public housing. He was like the "The Rent Is Too Da*n High" guy without the wacky beard and gloves, and with other issues. The horse issue nearly got me to vote against him, because frankly it's just not important.
Homelessness is, and whether he manages to make headway against this, or just makes a good effort against the rising tide, I'm sure it will be better than Mayor Giuliani's tactics of arresting them, putting them on busses to other states, harassing them, and eventually doing something completely off the media radar (feel queasy at this point).
Also another side-swipe to Ghouliani, Mayor de Blasio, perhaps our tallest mayor ever, has had almost infinitely more success at protecting New York City from terrorism than Rudy did. Just by the numbers.
So yeah, this might be the place where our mayor turns my opinion around and I vote for him again. We'll see.
Homelessness is, and whether he manages to make headway against this, or just makes a good effort against the rising tide, I'm sure it will be better than Mayor Giuliani's tactics of arresting them, putting them on busses to other states, harassing them, and eventually doing something completely off the media radar (feel queasy at this point).
Also another side-swipe to Ghouliani, Mayor de Blasio, perhaps our tallest mayor ever, has had almost infinitely more success at protecting New York City from terrorism than Rudy did. Just by the numbers.
So yeah, this might be the place where our mayor turns my opinion around and I vote for him again. We'll see.
3
Massive homelessness is an inevitable consequence of our lifestyle choices and the economic system we have embraced. Let's quit pretending we care since we are not prepared to make any sacrifices to solve the problem.
15
Mayor Wilhelm is the best promiser. #equinelivesmatter #progressiveresults
2
I noticed that de Blasio mentioned that his study to find solutions to street-homelessness would be completed sometime in March. By late March, if we have winter at all this season, the street-homeless will probably prefer staying on the street. Great way of kicking the can down the street: engage in a study of the problem until it's no longer a problem.
2
Where does this ridiculous idea that you can solve the homeless problem by building more "affordable housing" in NYC come from?
Building bellow market rate housing does one thing and one thing only - it attracts more people who can't afford to live in NYC to NYC.
Nothing the mayor has proposed will have any meaningful impact on the problem. Why doesn't the NYT report on that?
Building bellow market rate housing does one thing and one thing only - it attracts more people who can't afford to live in NYC to NYC.
Nothing the mayor has proposed will have any meaningful impact on the problem. Why doesn't the NYT report on that?
11
Having lived in a New York City neighborhood for 10 years, you know the people who live there, both housed and homeless.
I have found that in the last year there has been a tremendous influx of new homeless people.
These homeless are attracted by tourist benevolence and by the new lack of quality of life enforcement by de Blasio.
I have found that in the last year there has been a tremendous influx of new homeless people.
These homeless are attracted by tourist benevolence and by the new lack of quality of life enforcement by de Blasio.
24
I agree to a point - the affordable housing is not even affordable. No one coming to the city on a dime or 2000 dimes let alone homeless individuals would be able to afford an "affordable" apartment. The middle class, such as it is, can't even afford an so-called affordable rental.
There should be some requirement that services for people who need them in NYC be given to NYC residents. There is a real danger that huge influxes of needing people will migrate to NYC as soon as they hear about promises to help said needy people. A *federal* program that can be applied in every state would be most helpful so that people do not bankrupt city by city the few cities that happen to have helpful plans.
There should be some requirement that services for people who need them in NYC be given to NYC residents. There is a real danger that huge influxes of needing people will migrate to NYC as soon as they hear about promises to help said needy people. A *federal* program that can be applied in every state would be most helpful so that people do not bankrupt city by city the few cities that happen to have helpful plans.
1
Mental illness and substance abuse are barely mentioned here! Do the editors ever step out of their limos and deal with the vagrants on our streets? Most are not in control of themselves, let alone in a position to deal with the reality of a job or renting an apartment! Emptying and then closing New York's large mental health facilities late in the 20th century was a big mistake that liberals can't admit!
13
The Conservative cut the funding for federal mental health facilities, while the Liberals sued to allow seriously mentally ill people the right to 'decide' if they preferred living on the streets.
As usual, it took both parties to create this horrific mess.
As usual, it took both parties to create this horrific mess.
6
This is not an affordable housing issue. All the able bodies 'homeless' people who made bad personal choices should receive absolutely nothing if they don't work hard to get out of their situation. Then they will leave on their own. These are not New Yorkers who lost their jobs and found themselves in a dead end. Those type of people get back to work quickly and get on their feet quickly. I'm sick of seeing lazy young people with dogs laying around the sidewalks panhandling. They should be forced to at least do community service for any help they receive. This situation is shameful.
17
Because, of course, the main problem with homelessness is how it bothers you ... And before you throw up your hands in righteous indignation that your post is about an alternative solution centered on pulling up boot strings, I direct your attention to the sentiment "Then they will leave on their own" (as if that is a reasonable solution to the problem- kicking it down the road to the next town) and "I'm sick of seeing lazy young people ..."
Affordable housing is part of the issue, as the Times has reported many times in the past. So is mental health. So is personal responsibility. But life is sufficiently complicated, and our omniscience about anyone's life non-existent, to reduce things down to an outside, non-informed judgment about bad choices as the core of the issue and policy that flows from this.
Affordable housing is part of the issue, as the Times has reported many times in the past. So is mental health. So is personal responsibility. But life is sufficiently complicated, and our omniscience about anyone's life non-existent, to reduce things down to an outside, non-informed judgment about bad choices as the core of the issue and policy that flows from this.
New York City will always have a homeless problem because of the right to shelter, which turns the city into a magnet for the homeless. Creating housing subsidies doesn't help--It just makes the city's shelters more attractive because they're a doorway to cheap, sometimes totally free housing (read: LINC). The city needs to drop the right to shelter, or the nation needs to adopt it. Otherwise, New York City is responsible for the entire country's homeless problem.
12
I'm not sure if the NYT has institutional amnesia or what but DeBasio rarely actually does what he talks about. He uses what is a real crisis in order to help his real constituents-- the developers. I would be surprised to see him do the same with the homeless. He is shameless in his opportunism and his duplicity.
3
The only solution to homelessness is housing that is truly affordable. Mayor de Blasio and the city council should use imminent domain to seize new construction, and halt all existing construction until developers and realters solve this problem.
Deprive them of their income, and they will find a solution in about five minutes.
Deprive them of their income, and they will find a solution in about five minutes.
3
Considering that the only people that can now afford to live in most parts of NYC are the rich and the poor, I'd say the homeless are in a good position to receive City, State, and Federal assistance.
The majority of us who are middle-class no one really cares about.
The majority of us who are middle-class no one really cares about.
36
Certainly the homeless need more care and support than the middle class.
1
One thing the left has missed entirely is that the reason working & middle class voters oppose their policies, is that the working & middle class are left out of nearly every social program. (The exceptions are SS and Medicare; hence the widespread support these "socialist" programs have!) For working/middle class Americans under 65, there are essentially NO social programs.
The rich get tax breaks and incentives. The poor get welfare, food stamps, Section 8, Medicaid and Obamaphones. The working & middle class get NOTHING.
Why would we support the policies of a party that absolutely ignores us? In fact, the left's attitude stems from their dislike and contempt for the working & middle class -- we are "the stoopid low information voters" who "vote against our own self-interest" (NOTE: the left gets to define our self-interests FOR US!).
NYC is a brilliant example of this. They spend hundreds of millions on housing the very poor, and give huge tax breaks to the very rich and developers. But they have effectively driven almost every working & middle class resident OUT of the city.
The rich get tax breaks and incentives. The poor get welfare, food stamps, Section 8, Medicaid and Obamaphones. The working & middle class get NOTHING.
Why would we support the policies of a party that absolutely ignores us? In fact, the left's attitude stems from their dislike and contempt for the working & middle class -- we are "the stoopid low information voters" who "vote against our own self-interest" (NOTE: the left gets to define our self-interests FOR US!).
NYC is a brilliant example of this. They spend hundreds of millions on housing the very poor, and give huge tax breaks to the very rich and developers. But they have effectively driven almost every working & middle class resident OUT of the city.
26
Where have you been? MIDDLE CLASS is obsolete. Either you're rich or poor, but the so-called middle class is either headed one way or another in coming years. See middle class require income to maintain, but every CEO or manager is coming up with strategies to reduce your viability, and once it is established, you're on the decline headed to poverty.
So I guess I'm the only person who interacts with wealthy drug users and alcoholics. We often refer to wealthy people as eccentric, but many suffer from actual mental illness, whereas the struggles of disadvantaged individuals is a result of lack of unemployment, family, and humanity which can easily be understood. Instead of simply categorizing the homeless as drug addicts and mentally ill, has anyone did research in the number that are working yet homeless (collecting minimum wage). You're be surprised, how many have a bachelor's degree who due to circumstances cannot afford a NYC apartment.
To ignore the truth is to inevitably be a participant in comprehension.
So I guess I'm the only person who interacts with wealthy drug users and alcoholics. We often refer to wealthy people as eccentric, but many suffer from actual mental illness, whereas the struggles of disadvantaged individuals is a result of lack of unemployment, family, and humanity which can easily be understood. Instead of simply categorizing the homeless as drug addicts and mentally ill, has anyone did research in the number that are working yet homeless (collecting minimum wage). You're be surprised, how many have a bachelor's degree who due to circumstances cannot afford a NYC apartment.
To ignore the truth is to inevitably be a participant in comprehension.
The police are called to a Homeless shelter cross the street from my midtown apartment building, nearly every day and often multiple times a day. The people temporarily housed here, fight on the sidewalk, at all hours, drink,, do drugs, intimidate passing people. Across the street is a strip club, and the moist successful show on Broadway in a decade. Two citibike kiosks exists on each end of the block. It's a recipe for disaster and soon I fear someone will be hurt or killed. Last Spring, a scuffle between two men at the building, left one stabbed and dying on the sidewalk and a trail of blood as long as the block. I came home to a puddle of it in front of my door. All this while tourists and their kids make their way to theater and residents make their way home. This policy of paying owners of a slum building extraordinary amounts of money each day to house homeless families is a scam. Someone in the city is being paid off, no doubt in my mind. Each week a new set of thugs replaces the old set. It's a disgrace. In fairness Bloomberg started it, but DiBlasio has let it run rampant. Coops walk by as people argue, and do drugs, play music loudly, all hours, just unbelievable! Not even the landlords have a say, they've tried. The city ignores their pleas. It makes me want to leave NYC all, together. This is a result of ignoring a problem because one doesn't want to appear harsh against a segment of the population. The rest of us suffer for a Mayor's social engineering agenda.
48
Dear MCS,
How many of these homeless are children? Probably not the ones fighting while doing drugs, listening to loud music, going to moist Broadway musicals, and so on? Because there are around 23,858 homeless children in New York City (as of Oct. 2015: http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/basic-facts-about-homelessness-ne...
I know, you don't care about 23,858 homeless kids, you just want those stinking winos off your block. Sure, addiction is also a major problem, but maybe if temporary housing were set up for homeless families, and homeless men could get workfare or rehab, things would also look better in your Citibike-shiny new neighborhood. Just try, for Christmas time, to have a little tiny bit of compassion.
How many of these homeless are children? Probably not the ones fighting while doing drugs, listening to loud music, going to moist Broadway musicals, and so on? Because there are around 23,858 homeless children in New York City (as of Oct. 2015: http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/basic-facts-about-homelessness-ne...
I know, you don't care about 23,858 homeless kids, you just want those stinking winos off your block. Sure, addiction is also a major problem, but maybe if temporary housing were set up for homeless families, and homeless men could get workfare or rehab, things would also look better in your Citibike-shiny new neighborhood. Just try, for Christmas time, to have a little tiny bit of compassion.
2
You have an apartment near a strip club? What kind of a neighborhood were you expecting?
4
One of the underlying problems is talking about "the homeless" like it is one amorphous mass -- all the same.
It is actually several groups, with different causes and different needs, requiring different solutions. A family who has been evicted for lack of rent money, but who are stable, sane and clean, and just need some assistance to get back into an apartment -- are 100% different than the schizophrenic off his meds (refuses to take meds) who is screaming about Judgment Day, or the drug addict who is always high, and spends his welfare money on drugs. These types all co-exist in homeless shelters and it is a disaster.
There needs to be a more effective vetting program, to put families into homes -- put addicts into treatment -- put the mentally ill into residential hospital settings. But that requires calling a spade a spade -- and THAT is politically incorrect. So lefty liberal social workers treat them all the same, creating wretched shelters that are filthy & unsafe for all.
It is actually several groups, with different causes and different needs, requiring different solutions. A family who has been evicted for lack of rent money, but who are stable, sane and clean, and just need some assistance to get back into an apartment -- are 100% different than the schizophrenic off his meds (refuses to take meds) who is screaming about Judgment Day, or the drug addict who is always high, and spends his welfare money on drugs. These types all co-exist in homeless shelters and it is a disaster.
There needs to be a more effective vetting program, to put families into homes -- put addicts into treatment -- put the mentally ill into residential hospital settings. But that requires calling a spade a spade -- and THAT is politically incorrect. So lefty liberal social workers treat them all the same, creating wretched shelters that are filthy & unsafe for all.
12
A few year ago, I spoke to a women who ran a massive homeless shelter in Chicago and had been involved in helping the homeless for more than 20 years. In her experience, the homeless fell into three categories. One third of the homeless were shocked to find themselves in that situation and were looking for serious help, and once found would never fall back into the homeless category. Another third were homeless due to drugs or alcohol or some horrible upbringing and would cycle in and out of the system throughout their lives. They needed more than urgent care -- usually rehab and/or counseling but they were unlikely to get it because,when homeless, most of their energy was focused on staying safe and finding food. The last third of the homeless would sadly, always remain homeless. They had serious mental health issues and few periods of lucidity. Those folks did not need a homeless shelter but instead needed a mental health hospital. If New York's Mayor wants to make a dent, he can do so but he is going to need more than just affordable housing.
89
So, how do you help the alcoholics and the junkies who don't want help? Can you force them into rehab? How many times can you force them into rehab after they relapse? How do you help the people who have mental health issues, especially if they do not want your help? Can you force people into a mental health hospital? Indeed, Steven Banks, de Blasio's appointee, has made a career of suing the City to give the homeless the right to sleep on the streets, with no help forced on them. So, basically, you may be able to solve one-third of the homeless problem, while the rest of the homeless, including the most volatile and violent are left on the streets to prey on people.
7
The Mayor would also have to admit what you say here -- which is quite correct -- and that means being honest and not using "politically correct" language or methodology. And he will never do that, as he is a creature of the political left.
4
Your division into thirds of groups is about what is happening in our city also. One third of the homeless are just unable to afford the prices for even the cheapest apartment as we are slowly becoming the bedroom for Boston area jobs. Often, they have jobs which pay the minimum wage and often are only part-time. They also have children and frequently are mothers without partners.
We have a segment of the homeless who seem to prefer living rough because drug use and alcohol isn't allowed in the shelters and when you haven't a job nor intend to get one for various reasons, our wooded areas often find small tent camps set up.
Our city does its very best to help, but the problem doesn't seem to shrink but get larger as the economic recovery hasn't affected many of the working poor whatsoever.
We have a segment of the homeless who seem to prefer living rough because drug use and alcohol isn't allowed in the shelters and when you haven't a job nor intend to get one for various reasons, our wooded areas often find small tent camps set up.
Our city does its very best to help, but the problem doesn't seem to shrink but get larger as the economic recovery hasn't affected many of the working poor whatsoever.
4
Suddenly the major corporate media here in New York City “discovers”
that New York City has a homeless problem is "Urgent" — and who is to blame? — well of course it’s all Mayor de Blasio’s fault; whose been in office since January 1, 2014.
Blaming de Blasio for the high numbers of New York City’s homeless
population is akin to blaming Obama for the 4,200 U.S. military killed in the Iraq war during George W. Bush’s time in the White House.
New York City’s homeless population EXPLODED during the 12
years of Mayor Mike Bloomberg. When Bloomberg became mayor on January 1, 2002 there were 25,000 homeless people in New York City; —when he finally left 12 years later there were 54,000— that’s more than a 75% spike.
During the 12 year reign of Mayor Bloomberg the major corporate media was virtually silent about the rapidly increasing homeless population; no weekly “special” reports or exposes as we are seeing now under Be Blasio's tenure. Why?
The facts about N.Y.C. exploding homeless population during that last 12 years are not hard to find—you can look at the chart here — http://tinyurl.com/jgms8v9 and read how it happened here — http://tinyurl.com/pg59q5w
that New York City has a homeless problem is "Urgent" — and who is to blame? — well of course it’s all Mayor de Blasio’s fault; whose been in office since January 1, 2014.
Blaming de Blasio for the high numbers of New York City’s homeless
population is akin to blaming Obama for the 4,200 U.S. military killed in the Iraq war during George W. Bush’s time in the White House.
New York City’s homeless population EXPLODED during the 12
years of Mayor Mike Bloomberg. When Bloomberg became mayor on January 1, 2002 there were 25,000 homeless people in New York City; —when he finally left 12 years later there were 54,000— that’s more than a 75% spike.
During the 12 year reign of Mayor Bloomberg the major corporate media was virtually silent about the rapidly increasing homeless population; no weekly “special” reports or exposes as we are seeing now under Be Blasio's tenure. Why?
The facts about N.Y.C. exploding homeless population during that last 12 years are not hard to find—you can look at the chart here — http://tinyurl.com/jgms8v9 and read how it happened here — http://tinyurl.com/pg59q5w
36
"Homelessness is a hydra-headed problem not just in New York, but in dozens of American cities."
It's not just American cities--the suburbs surrounding NYC are grappling with these same problems: a lack of affordable housing, mental illness, substance abuse, etc. Here in Suffolk County, the problems are compounded by a lack of rental housing, inadequate public transportation, and a fragmented service delivery system that is difficult to access without a car. These are no longer just urban problems. Poverty has moved out to the suburbs, and we are woefully unprepared to deal with it.
It's not just American cities--the suburbs surrounding NYC are grappling with these same problems: a lack of affordable housing, mental illness, substance abuse, etc. Here in Suffolk County, the problems are compounded by a lack of rental housing, inadequate public transportation, and a fragmented service delivery system that is difficult to access without a car. These are no longer just urban problems. Poverty has moved out to the suburbs, and we are woefully unprepared to deal with it.
17
To see things in reverse, the total absence of homeless people in NYC during the Giuliani -Bloomberg era always disturbed me. Even with the most effective and compassionate treatment of this problem, I've always seriously doubted that you could have a city or a society without at least a few citizen (I think that the word in important here) at its margins.
I am certainly not advocating for any complacency regarding the problem of homelessness - most of these homeless people need help right now, but the sanitized version of the city that we've had in the past is not something that we should hold against De Blasio.
I think that in the past people were happy not to have to have to look at the question of homelessness, in some kind of "don't ask, don't tell" way, because a beggar on the street forces us to think at who we are as a person (should I give him a dollar? What if he's going to drink it? Why should I care?) and as a society (what if people don't want to fit in? what does it really mean for me to live in this city with *everyone* else? Am I fitting in? Why?)
I think that the NYT should shed some lights on the wonderful methods of the mayor's predecessors. I'm suspecting that some of them involved more muscle than heart.
I am certainly not advocating for any complacency regarding the problem of homelessness - most of these homeless people need help right now, but the sanitized version of the city that we've had in the past is not something that we should hold against De Blasio.
I think that in the past people were happy not to have to have to look at the question of homelessness, in some kind of "don't ask, don't tell" way, because a beggar on the street forces us to think at who we are as a person (should I give him a dollar? What if he's going to drink it? Why should I care?) and as a society (what if people don't want to fit in? what does it really mean for me to live in this city with *everyone* else? Am I fitting in? Why?)
I think that the NYT should shed some lights on the wonderful methods of the mayor's predecessors. I'm suspecting that some of them involved more muscle than heart.
2
Some say muscle, others say heart. Is it muscle or heart to force someone to be helped?
Dear Eric,
Well, homelessness skyrocketed during Bloomberg's 12 year term, homelessness was an arrestable offense during Giuliani's 8 year term, and Dinkins was woefully incompetent. I guess during Koch's 12 years as mayor, homelessness was also prevalent. When you say homeless people were totally absent during the last 20 years, what you mean is you didn't see them. Their actual numbers were steadily increasing that entire time.
Well, homelessness skyrocketed during Bloomberg's 12 year term, homelessness was an arrestable offense during Giuliani's 8 year term, and Dinkins was woefully incompetent. I guess during Koch's 12 years as mayor, homelessness was also prevalent. When you say homeless people were totally absent during the last 20 years, what you mean is you didn't see them. Their actual numbers were steadily increasing that entire time.
4
Eric,
I agree with you that the "wonderful methods of the mayor's predecessors" need to be explored, but not, as you suggest, for the purpose of condemning them. Instead, they need to be reinstated.
There is nothing wrong with managing the City so that the vast majority of us, who work hard, pay taxes and generally contribute to the success of this place, do not have to be confronted by beggars on the street (some very aggressive), homeless encampments at train stations, squeegee men at highway entrances, etc. Mayor de Blasio needs to understand that homelessness is not only a problem for the homeless, but has a huge impact on quality of life for the rest of us.
I agree with you that the "wonderful methods of the mayor's predecessors" need to be explored, but not, as you suggest, for the purpose of condemning them. Instead, they need to be reinstated.
There is nothing wrong with managing the City so that the vast majority of us, who work hard, pay taxes and generally contribute to the success of this place, do not have to be confronted by beggars on the street (some very aggressive), homeless encampments at train stations, squeegee men at highway entrances, etc. Mayor de Blasio needs to understand that homelessness is not only a problem for the homeless, but has a huge impact on quality of life for the rest of us.
4
Noble undertaking, that of trying to find remedy for the homeless. Not an easy task, for sure, and no perfect solutions are at hand, but a permanent search to ease the burden must include its urgency to restore some dignity to those affected. This gross inequality in a city of riches is everybody's problem, we all ought to participate in its solution. As they say, no chain is stronger than its weakest link.
3
I don't know enough about this issue to comment intelligently, but I do appreciate the comments left so far. I'm assuming that looking at what Utah has done with this issue is completely naïve for a city the size of NY?
2
Dear Judy,
Yes indeed it is, Utah has a population of about 2,943,000, and NYC has a population of roughly the most of any city in the U.S.. (like 8.5 million).
Yes indeed it is, Utah has a population of about 2,943,000, and NYC has a population of roughly the most of any city in the U.S.. (like 8.5 million).
2
Sorry Judy, reading my comment it looks sarcastically patronizing, and I didn't mean it like that. So, the differences between almost any state or city and NYC make direct copying of homelessness solutions unlikely, but if general concepts are working well, they could probably be modified for our city, is what I should have said. Also that the last place homelessness will be truly solved in this country is probably NYC, again due to the size of this place.
1
The ultimate irony is that on any given night in Manhattan probably 50% of apartments are empty of human beings. Our state's tax abatements and government sponsored money laundering schemes have encouraged this.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/realestate/new-york-citys-emptiest-co-...
If the word for a person without a home is homeless, then what's the word for an apartment that never houses anyone? And what's the word for a person with 6 homes when 5 are always empty?
Governor Cuomo could advocate for taxing non primary residences in the city where housing availability is at a crisis, if he was genuine. But he's not genuine. So he won't.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/realestate/new-york-citys-emptiest-co-...
If the word for a person without a home is homeless, then what's the word for an apartment that never houses anyone? And what's the word for a person with 6 homes when 5 are always empty?
Governor Cuomo could advocate for taxing non primary residences in the city where housing availability is at a crisis, if he was genuine. But he's not genuine. So he won't.
46
Homelessness in NYC has nothing to do with affordable housing. That analysis is laughable. De Blasio has been an incompetent mayor from day one and INVITED people to be lawless as he handcuffed the police. People started to come in from outside NYC so they could plant themselves on the sidewalk and pan handle. That is what has happened. I have no problem helping those in need, however the rest of the lazy, able bodied, dog friendly 'homeless' people need to be kicked out. They are ruining this city and De Blasio is at fault for it all.
23
Much homelessness is do to mental health issues, which should be treated, but has historically been underfunded.
But the huge increases in homelessness are due to an economy that transfers the productivity of the working class to billionaires. With a majority of their cash in liquid assets they are not really creating jobs. The Fed says we are at full employment despite capital (supply) at less then 80% utilization. All new income is going to the to 10% and most of that to the top . 01%. Meanwhile median income is down 10% since 2000, and the poor are doing worse than that. This keeps demand low so things aren't getting much better. And most of the new jobs being created don't pay enough to pay for rent and food st the same time.
Statistically I average a few homeless kids in my HS classes at any given time. I don't usually know who because they struggle to hide it.
The economy has been designed by the billionaires that control it as a giant vacuum that transfers wealth and income into their offshore bank accounts, with at least 5% unemployment built in, because their FED slows the economy if it goes lower.
But the huge increases in homelessness are due to an economy that transfers the productivity of the working class to billionaires. With a majority of their cash in liquid assets they are not really creating jobs. The Fed says we are at full employment despite capital (supply) at less then 80% utilization. All new income is going to the to 10% and most of that to the top . 01%. Meanwhile median income is down 10% since 2000, and the poor are doing worse than that. This keeps demand low so things aren't getting much better. And most of the new jobs being created don't pay enough to pay for rent and food st the same time.
Statistically I average a few homeless kids in my HS classes at any given time. I don't usually know who because they struggle to hide it.
The economy has been designed by the billionaires that control it as a giant vacuum that transfers wealth and income into their offshore bank accounts, with at least 5% unemployment built in, because their FED slows the economy if it goes lower.
17
You are mostly incorrect. Yes many homeless are mentally ill and should receive help. Yes there are people in the shelter system etc. BUT the huge increase has nothing to do with the statistical gymnastics you are trying to do. That increase is coming form outsiders who are pouring into NYC to panhandle. They are able bodied, can work and simply don't want to. Why is that so hard for you to comprehend? Billionaires have nothing to do with this problem. Poor personal choices have much more to do with it.
3
Is that all you have to say? Whining about having to look at people less well off than you? I'm so sick of people with no shame speaking about other people like they are inanimate objects. Out of sight and out of mind right? Quality of life crimes, give me a break. The police also handcuffed themselves, maybe if they spent more time speaking against brutality and weeding out "Bad apples" instead of harassing innocent homeless New Yorkers they would fare better with the public at large. Show some compassion or hold your tongue, New York is not a city of affluent arrogance.
3
As an active voter I implore, request, and demand that the mayor and the governor cease their senseless bickering about the serious problems of homelessness, hold summit meetings of all concerned parties of both state and city agencies (including the homeless) and begin to deal with this problem. Effective solutions can only be implemented if everyone is working together and if Cuomo and de Blasio cannot work together, we, the active voters of New York City, will find people who can. Political considerations that prolong the suffering of the vulnerable are deplorable.
16
I whole-heartedly agree. This effort will work best if Cuomo and DeBlasio coordinate their efforts. The two are not equally to blame for the lack of cooperation though. The governor takes an attitude toward the mayor.
3
See article As a New High Society Climbs in Manhattan, It’s a Race to the Top, Dec 21. Nice picture too. Says influx of foreign money and lenient zoning (and tax) regulations are leading to taller towers on billionaire’s row.
But somehow the city can’t afford shelters that don’t suffer from “an appalling lack of oversight, with rampant health and safety violations and too little effort to get families into permanent homes.”?
If shelters were decent places, maybe some of the chronic homeless wouldn’t prefer to stay on the streets. Then there’s high rents and low pay and lack of jobs.
It’s a hydra headed problem yes----there are many factors that cause an individual or a family to be without a home. Homelessness is a label for the result of many destructive factors. But the basis to help this situation is more simple--- more revenue would go a long way to reduce the homeless population and prevent adding to it. And we know where that revenue comes from.
But somehow the city can’t afford shelters that don’t suffer from “an appalling lack of oversight, with rampant health and safety violations and too little effort to get families into permanent homes.”?
If shelters were decent places, maybe some of the chronic homeless wouldn’t prefer to stay on the streets. Then there’s high rents and low pay and lack of jobs.
It’s a hydra headed problem yes----there are many factors that cause an individual or a family to be without a home. Homelessness is a label for the result of many destructive factors. But the basis to help this situation is more simple--- more revenue would go a long way to reduce the homeless population and prevent adding to it. And we know where that revenue comes from.
10
Mayor DeBlasio, a destructive, delusional, clueless clown, can't handle the simplest of problems in NYC and has managed to allow quality of life issues to balloon to an out-of-control level. Maybe you can't solve homelessness overnight, but he should be able to manage not having a homeless encampment ever 200 feet on a block.
On my block I'm treated to vomit, human remains and various people sleeping on private property many times throughout the month. And it's been so as long as BDB has been in office. Calling 311 to complain about this is a complete waste of time. And calling 311 for any quality of life issue is also a complete waste of time as there is no response.
I'm not holding my breath for another two years waiting for improvement. I know there won't be any until he's out of office.
On my block I'm treated to vomit, human remains and various people sleeping on private property many times throughout the month. And it's been so as long as BDB has been in office. Calling 311 to complain about this is a complete waste of time. And calling 311 for any quality of life issue is also a complete waste of time as there is no response.
I'm not holding my breath for another two years waiting for improvement. I know there won't be any until he's out of office.
29
To which block are you referring to?
1
How is homelessness one of the simplest of problems?
1
Homeless people ought to be discouraged from living in New York and assisted to live elsewhere.
It's virtually impossible to make a dent in the problem of homelessness in a city as expensive as New York is. The U.S. is full of places where homeless people would be better off and average New Yorkers need a break from the problem
too.
It's virtually impossible to make a dent in the problem of homelessness in a city as expensive as New York is. The U.S. is full of places where homeless people would be better off and average New Yorkers need a break from the problem
too.
30
Many poor and working class people in the NYC area -- not necessarily homeless -- would be done a kindness if re-settled in another less costly part of the state or nation.
However, you can't just bus people out of the city willy-nilly or they end up on someone ELSE'S doorstep and THEIR problem.
You would need a coordinated plan, and a city with a lot of inexpensive occupancy (like Detroit) that would agree to to take people in....it would require the exchange of money, and action to bring that housing up to code. It would require vetting such homeless folks, to determine who could even maintain an apartment or who must go into a residential mental health facility or a drug treatment program.
Nobody is willing to do those things -- to think big -- so the general agreement is "just ignore it....look away....maybe it will just go away on its own".
However, you can't just bus people out of the city willy-nilly or they end up on someone ELSE'S doorstep and THEIR problem.
You would need a coordinated plan, and a city with a lot of inexpensive occupancy (like Detroit) that would agree to to take people in....it would require the exchange of money, and action to bring that housing up to code. It would require vetting such homeless folks, to determine who could even maintain an apartment or who must go into a residential mental health facility or a drug treatment program.
Nobody is willing to do those things -- to think big -- so the general agreement is "just ignore it....look away....maybe it will just go away on its own".
4
Uh huh, Cuomo meets with Editorial Board and gets endorsement then goes on to win election.........uh huh.
I have been homeless and I give a darn about this. It's dangerous to be out in the cold.
Homeless don't need another Orwellian program that keeps them warm in a jail cell. They need housing of any kind.
I put the blame on a loss of jobs, but more importantly, an unregulated housing industry in which real estate people appeal to landlords to maximize profits with price gouging rent recommendations. By pushing for high rents, the landlord is seduced by the prospect of high income and the Real estate agent is incentivized by their own greed in garnering high commissions.
The really dangerous people are the cops looking for another excuse to prey on humans. Here you immediately label people as "Dangerous". I hope the pistalero cops don't shoot anyone over this, and you know darn well, it's a good possibility now that another nail will be met with a government "Hammer". It happened in Los Angeles.
Support those who help homeless. Don't create another class of criminals called homeless.
Public housing of any kind never looked or felt better.
I have been homeless and I give a darn about this. It's dangerous to be out in the cold.
Homeless don't need another Orwellian program that keeps them warm in a jail cell. They need housing of any kind.
I put the blame on a loss of jobs, but more importantly, an unregulated housing industry in which real estate people appeal to landlords to maximize profits with price gouging rent recommendations. By pushing for high rents, the landlord is seduced by the prospect of high income and the Real estate agent is incentivized by their own greed in garnering high commissions.
The really dangerous people are the cops looking for another excuse to prey on humans. Here you immediately label people as "Dangerous". I hope the pistalero cops don't shoot anyone over this, and you know darn well, it's a good possibility now that another nail will be met with a government "Hammer". It happened in Los Angeles.
Support those who help homeless. Don't create another class of criminals called homeless.
Public housing of any kind never looked or felt better.
19
Do you honestly believe a landlord (owner of an asset) shouldn't maximize income and charge market rate on his investment? Talk about wildly out of touch....
Patrick Aka Y. B. Normal-
Your "The really dangerous people are the cops looking for another excuse to prey on humans."
True story:NYC Last April 2014.
I ate breakfast at Theater Row restaurant.
Impossible for me to finish so I packaged pancakes, syrup, butter and bacon into a take-out container, put it into a plastic baggie and walked towards 8th/42nd looking for a homeless person who might want/need the food.
Seeing a policeman leaning against the Duanre Reade on the corner, I approached him and held aloft the baggie as I explained, asking where I might find such a person.
Immediately a short Serpico-appearing man approached and I heard him say to the policeman something about "Bellevue".
The policeman was saying "No, no she wants to give some food…"
as I said "Bellevue? You want to take me to Bellevue?"
'Serpico' backed away taking the food baggy with him.
Close encounter of the dangerous kind: drug/mental health/homeless providers-for-profit needing a body-count to collect.
Your "The really dangerous people are the cops looking for another excuse to prey on humans."
True story:NYC Last April 2014.
I ate breakfast at Theater Row restaurant.
Impossible for me to finish so I packaged pancakes, syrup, butter and bacon into a take-out container, put it into a plastic baggie and walked towards 8th/42nd looking for a homeless person who might want/need the food.
Seeing a policeman leaning against the Duanre Reade on the corner, I approached him and held aloft the baggie as I explained, asking where I might find such a person.
Immediately a short Serpico-appearing man approached and I heard him say to the policeman something about "Bellevue".
The policeman was saying "No, no she wants to give some food…"
as I said "Bellevue? You want to take me to Bellevue?"
'Serpico' backed away taking the food baggy with him.
Close encounter of the dangerous kind: drug/mental health/homeless providers-for-profit needing a body-count to collect.
1
You clearly don't know squat about public housing, or you'd know it has been a 75 year CATASTROPHE for the poor -- often locking them into poor neighborhoods with no job opportunities or luring their children into lives of crime, drugs and prostitution.
1
It doesn't sound like the homeless problem is a cyclical one. It is growing and entrenching, like mass incarceration, which is not receding. These are the human externalities of a "your on your own" economy - void of pensions, livable wages and fair taxation.
14
Action against homelessness is initiated when the number and location of the homeless reaches a discomfort level for the general public. Success in overcoming the problem is measured by whether the visibility of the homeless is sufficiently reduced. De Blasio and everybody else involved need to keep in mind that a program designed to help the homeless should have as its first priority helping the homeless, not just reducing the visibility of the problem for the benefit of the general public.
29
I remember when housing and affordable housing meant the same thing
23
So? It's supply and demand. Markets change. There is cheap housing available in Oklahoma.
1
Affordable housing in the DeBlasio dictionary is a cover for giveaways to developers. It has nothing to do with homes or housing.
2
There is no way you can build places for the homeless fast enough due to the fact permanent housing and all its required financial support will never keep up with demand. The City is geared to produce these people in faster numbers as liberal progressive policies increase. The bureaucracy is corrupt to the point of shamelessness, as the city comptroller has exposed. Remember the answer is always 'long term solutions', that being lets pass it on to the next group of politicians. Homeless has always been a jobs program for political patronage, its what government is always about, namely jobs for bureaucrats. The public has always been born to be conned.
8
It is very easy for people with nefarious motives to manufacture a "homelessness crisis" in the city by forcing people out of the shelters.
This makes the problem more visible without any change in the number of actual homeless people in the city.
I'm unconvinced that this "crisis" is anything more than another political hit job, much like the "Ebola crisis" was right before the 2014 midterm elections.
There is actually very little that fact based critics have to pin on deBlasio, which is why the Horse Carriage issue still has people up in arms, and why every robbery gets front page coverage in the tabloids.
The homelessness issue is a perfect foil for fact free hit pieces, because five homeless people in midtown can get 100 times more coverage than fifty homeless people above 96th street.
The myth of the homeless free NY under Bloomberg and Giuliani being floated by the press is shameful.
This makes the problem more visible without any change in the number of actual homeless people in the city.
I'm unconvinced that this "crisis" is anything more than another political hit job, much like the "Ebola crisis" was right before the 2014 midterm elections.
There is actually very little that fact based critics have to pin on deBlasio, which is why the Horse Carriage issue still has people up in arms, and why every robbery gets front page coverage in the tabloids.
The homelessness issue is a perfect foil for fact free hit pieces, because five homeless people in midtown can get 100 times more coverage than fifty homeless people above 96th street.
The myth of the homeless free NY under Bloomberg and Giuliani being floated by the press is shameful.
24
From NYC to the beach parks of Honolulu, homelessness is a problem everywhere. It isn't just dozens of cities, it is literally everywhere. Our little city closes it parks at 8:00 pm, inconveniencing dog walkers and those seeking a cool after dinner stroll, just so the police can roust out anyone trying to stay near the restrooms provided there.
Homelessness is about far more than shelters. It is loss of homes to the financial catastrophe that has been fixed only for the wealthy. It is loss of mental health care for those turned out onto the street by "reforms" since Reagan. It is a system that builds only McMansions when so many starter homes are needed by those starting and those starting again. It is college debt that keeps people from moving up, keeping hold of the cheaper housing options that would be places for those now left homeless.
It is the structure of our society, that has left out so many. Giving them cots to get out of the cold is hardly the real answer. In fairness, it is beyond a mayor to provide the real answer, and cots are better than a blind eye.
But our national debate today is about Hillary's toilet, not the underlying reasons millions are newly homeless.
Homelessness is about far more than shelters. It is loss of homes to the financial catastrophe that has been fixed only for the wealthy. It is loss of mental health care for those turned out onto the street by "reforms" since Reagan. It is a system that builds only McMansions when so many starter homes are needed by those starting and those starting again. It is college debt that keeps people from moving up, keeping hold of the cheaper housing options that would be places for those now left homeless.
It is the structure of our society, that has left out so many. Giving them cots to get out of the cold is hardly the real answer. In fairness, it is beyond a mayor to provide the real answer, and cots are better than a blind eye.
But our national debate today is about Hillary's toilet, not the underlying reasons millions are newly homeless.
71
Homelessness is a huge problem in most metropolei and I suspect in smaller ones as well.
In my county, there is very little to no affordable housing. It is not uncommon, even though the per capita income is among the highest in the nation, to see families, couples, even strangers doubling, tripling, even quintupling up in two-bedroom apartments. It isn't unusual to see three and four generations of family members living in one home. Here, in OC, the wait for a Section 8 vouchers is at least 5 years and veterans are given preference, which is only right, but with hardly any affordable housing and not much in the way of policy and planning for new affordable housing, the wait list isn't moving much. I've been seeing many of the same homeless families in my neck of the woods for the last six years, and new ones living in sections of the freeway I'd never seen occupied before.
Los Angeles, with its 50 thousand homeless is pretty much in the same situation and Mayor Garcetti has been making the same kinds of noises as Mayor deBlasio. Without massive funding, planning, and building, all this will just be talk. There has been an obvious rise in homelessness since the start of the recession and I've not seen it recede.
I'm glad to see an editorial on this. This is a national crisis that our national government should be helping to resolve.
--
Wage stagnation & Affordable Housing: a crisis: http://wp.me/p2KJ3H-1g3
The precariat: http://wp.me/p2KJ3H-1KO
In my county, there is very little to no affordable housing. It is not uncommon, even though the per capita income is among the highest in the nation, to see families, couples, even strangers doubling, tripling, even quintupling up in two-bedroom apartments. It isn't unusual to see three and four generations of family members living in one home. Here, in OC, the wait for a Section 8 vouchers is at least 5 years and veterans are given preference, which is only right, but with hardly any affordable housing and not much in the way of policy and planning for new affordable housing, the wait list isn't moving much. I've been seeing many of the same homeless families in my neck of the woods for the last six years, and new ones living in sections of the freeway I'd never seen occupied before.
Los Angeles, with its 50 thousand homeless is pretty much in the same situation and Mayor Garcetti has been making the same kinds of noises as Mayor deBlasio. Without massive funding, planning, and building, all this will just be talk. There has been an obvious rise in homelessness since the start of the recession and I've not seen it recede.
I'm glad to see an editorial on this. This is a national crisis that our national government should be helping to resolve.
--
Wage stagnation & Affordable Housing: a crisis: http://wp.me/p2KJ3H-1g3
The precariat: http://wp.me/p2KJ3H-1KO
26
Star Trek Deep Space 9 Season 3 episodes 11 and 12 dealing with the possible future if homelessness is not dealt with. Science fiction predicts more than holodecks.