A critical look at Mayor Adams’ and Governor Hochul’s proposals to help those sleeping on the streets, in subways, and in shelters

In their most recent State of the City and State of the State addresses, Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Hochul announced new initiatives to address unsheltered homelessness and mental illness in New York City. Jake Offenhartz of the Associated Press explores Mayor Adams’ proposals in his article “NYC to spend $650M on combating homelessness and mental illness,” while Politico’s Jason Beeferman examines Governor Hochul’s statements in “Following fatal subway burning, Hochul to install cops on city trains overnight.” It’s worth some key points and their implications.

“The number of people living on the streets and subways of New York City reached a nearly two-decade high last year, driven in part by rising rents and a shelter system widely seen as unsafe and overcrowded.”

This stark reality underscores a fundamental truth: the current crisis stems from systemic failures rather than individual choices. While Mayor Adams proposes $650 million in funding over five years, the question remains whether this approach addresses the root causes of the failures.

“The bulk of the funding will go toward the creation of an additional 900 so-called ‘safe haven’ beds, an alternative to the city’s dormitory-style shelters, as well as 100 new beds for homeless children and teens.”

While any increase in low-barrier shelter beds – which better meet people’s needs – is welcome, this response falls well short of the need. As noted in our response to Governor Hochul on the same matter, “The only solution to homelessness is housing, paired with supportive mental health services for those who need it.” Safe haven beds, while important, still represent only a temporary solution to a problem with the lack of permanent housing at its core.

“Adams… said he would double his yearslong push for a state law that would make it easier to involuntarily commit those with severe mental illness living on the street.”

This approach is deeply problematic. As we’ve stated, “Any plan that hinges on forced hospitalizations is short-sighted, traumatizes vulnerable New Yorkers, and accomplishes nothing.” The focus on involuntary hospitalization ignores the real issue: “The standard for involuntary treatment is already sufficient – the problem has long been, again, the lack of quality voluntary mental health services and housing.” People who are hospitalized are rarely connected to housing and community mental health services before they are released, often returning back to the subways and streets.

“This is the game plan: More police where they’re needed, safety infrastructure, and critical interventions to help the homeless and mentally ill get the help they need instead of languishing on trains and frightening commuters,” Hochul said.

The fact of the matter is that we are far from having sufficient mental health services and housing to make lasting change in these individuals’ lives. The City and State have been putting more and more police and national guard in the subways over the past couple of years, but this does nothing to solve the problem — and is in fact counterproductive, making it harder for outreach workers to build trust with and engage unsheltered individuals.

Flooding the subways with police and forcefully removing people – a move driven more by sensationalist headlines than by any actual intent to help those in need – is ridiculous when New York City doesn’t have the mental health services or housing to offer people when they are removed. Involuntary hospitalizations do nothing more than delay their return to the streets; where once again our most vulnerable must bear the brunt of failed social policy. The sad reality is that homeless people and people with mental illness are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent attacks.

What New York needs is a comprehensive approach that prioritizes:

  1. Providing permanent housing combined with comprehensive mental health supports for those who need it.
  2. Eliminating the existing waiting lists for intensive mental health service teams and ensuring that people who are sleeping on the streets have immediate access to these services.
  3. Ending police involvement in outreach to people who are homeless, instead leaving it to mental health professionals, who must be able to quickly connect people to real housing.

The current proposals, while adding some limited resources, fail to address these fundamental needs. Without addressing the housing crisis and mental health service gaps, we’re merely putting band-aids on a systemic wound.

The solution isn’t more police in the subways or forcibly removing people to hospitals – it’s creating a city where everyone has access to affordable housing and the support services they need to thrive.