August 5, 2020 Press Release, By Coalition for the Homeless NEW YORK, NY – The following statement released today by Coalition for the Homeless is in response to Mayor de Blasio’s announcement that the City financed 30,023 affordable homes this past fiscal year; however, housing units financed for homeless New Yorkers fell to the lowest level since FY14: “While we recognize that Fiscal Year 2020 presented numerous unpredictable obstacles, we are deeply disappointed that the number of housing units financed for homeless New Yorkers fell to the lowest level since Fiscal Year 2014. The pandemic has shown with undeniable clarity that housing is health care, as tens of thousands of New Yorkers have confronted the risk of a deadly virus without the basic safety of their own home. We are grateful that the City Council passed the groundbreaking Local Law 19 of 2020 earlier this year, which will require the City to set aside more apartments for homeless households in large housing developments going forward. However, in order to spur the creation of more desperately needed affordable housing, Mayor de Blasio must reverse the counterproductive cuts to the capital budget for housing,” said Giselle Routhier, Policy Director at Coalition for the Homeless.
