A Better, Cheaper Alternative to the Failed “Advantage” Program Posted on March 17, 2011 by Patrick Markee As Mayor Bloomberg and City officials continue their irresponsible fear-mongering in defense of the failed Advantage program, they are refusing to talk about a better, cheaper alternative: Federal housing programs. Coalition for the Homeless has long talked a ..Read More
Mayor Bloomberg’s Unlawful, Irresponsible Threat to Displace 15,000 Formerly-Homeless Families Posted on March 17, 2011 by PATRICK MARKEE In yet another example of fear-mongering and misleading the public, the Bloomberg administration threatened today to cut off rent subsidies for 15,000 formerly-homeless families — and the Coalition vowed to stop this unlawful action. As part of its incr ..Read More
Mayor Bloomberg’s “Advantage” Budget Strategy: Scare Tactics and Falsehoods Posted on March 14, 2011 by Patrick Markee Late last week Mayor Bloomberg and administration officials engaged in irresponsible scare tactics in their desperate attempts to defend the failed Advantage program. And as usual, they didn’t tell the whole story about how to genuinely help homeless fam ..Read More
Even MORE Evidence of the Failures of the Advantage Program Posted on March 8, 2011 by Patrick Markee Yesterday the New York Daily News published a comprehensive article on the failures of the Advantage program, with fresh evidence that the program is little more than a revolving door back to homelessness for vulnerable children and families. The article, w ..Read More
Bloomberg’s Budget Plan Would Cut Vital Services for Homeless and Poor New Yorkers Posted on February 18, 2011 by Patrick Markee Yesterday Mayor Bloomberg released his preliminary budget plan for FY 2012, which begins July 1st, and as predicted it includes sharp cutbacks to vital services for homeless and low-income New Yorkers. As a host of news organizations reported (see here, her ..Read More
Undercounting the Homeless Redux Posted on January 31, 2011 by Patrick Markee Tonight the City of New York will send volunteers out to “count” homeless people on the streets and in subways – a flawed effort that, year after year, has resulted in a significant undercount of New York City’s homeless population. Coa ..Read More
New York’s Number One Affordable Housing Issue This Year Posted on January 26, 2011 by Patrick Markee On June 15th rent laws protecting 2.5 million tenants are set to expire. And if the New York State Legislature and Governor Cuomo fail to renew and strengthen the rent laws, we could see a homelessness and housing crisis unlike any since the Great Depression. ..Read More
Back to the Bad Old Days Posted on January 21, 2011 by Patrick Markee The Bloomberg administration has plans to crowd hundreds of homeless men on an armory drill floor in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, a dangerous step backwards to the bad old days of unsafe, overcrowded shelters. Yesterday the New York Times ..Read More
Closed Doors II—Data Shows City Denies Shelter to Homeless Families at a Higher Rate Posted on October 27, 2010 by PATRICK MARKEE City data shows that, even in the midst of the lingering economic crisis, the City is denying shelter to homeless families at a higher rate. As we noted in an earlier post, yesterday’s New York City Council hearing highlighted the fact that, from March ..Read More
