Are There More Homeless People in New York City?

Are more people homeless in New York City than ever before?

For many weeks the New York Post and other media have been running stories about people experiencing homelessness in the city, using increased homelessness as a measure of declining “quality of life” in New York City. They’ve featured stories about public urination, bathing in the fountain at Columbus Circle, people sleeping all over the sidewalks, aggressive panhandling, disruptions of commerce and leisure activities and encampments of homeless people in Tompkins Square Park and other public places.