Homelessness Hits New Record High, City Says it Could Be Worse

The homelessness rate in New York City reached a new record this month. On Wednesday, September 28th, 59,948 adults and children slept in city shelters. The official count is expected to hit 60,000 in a matter of days, up from 51,470 in January 2014, when Mayor de Blasio took office. And that’s excluding specialized services for veterans, and drop-in centers like the one recently pitched for Bedford Avenue in Bed-Stuy—taking these beds into account, the advocacy group Coalition for the Homeless tacked the count at 60,456 back in July.

Then there’s the slippery street-homeless count. The city estimates north of 2,500 individuals, while Coalition for the Homeless maintains that “there is no reliable measurement.”