Sheltered Homeless Should Be Working To Get Out, Not To Be Stuck In The System

Homelessness and New York City have a precarious relationship to say the least. The city has always had a large population of the financially dispossessed, but the way we treat them has changed considerably. The affluent had Giuliani and Bloomberg make them disappear from public spaces to a large degree (sometimes it's easier to not see the disparity in society when you are on the good end of the economic spectrum, eh?). Unfortunately for the eyes of the upper crust, individuals and families on the brink frequently fall into homelessness and must rely on public assistance to help get them back on their feet.

A state law passed in 1997 mandating the homeless pay rent for their shelter was widely ignored by the city, but now supposedly due to an audit, Bloomberg's Administration is about to comply:

"Open-ended handouts, we know, don't work," Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs said. "This is not a moneymaker. We're not doing this to close budget gaps. It's really the principles ... involved."

A 1997 state law requires New York to charge rent to the homeless who can afford it. The city never did, but has been pressed to do it since a state audit last year.

Shelter residents would have to pay as much as 44% of their income in their first year in the program.

It may not be a "moneymaker," but for the homeless it is ruinous when nearly half your income is taken away to pay for temporary housing. Advocates for the homeless are naturally protesting this policy action yet the city is going ahead and complying with the law. What the city should be doing instead is to demand that the state repeal the law, and help those who are homeless that are actually taking the initiative to obtain jobs and get their lives in order. We as a society should be benevolent towards the less fortunate, not to be forcing them to stay in the poor house indefinitely.

Homeless Problem In NYC Is Larger Than Bloomberg's Counters Care To Admit

At the end of the week I heard about the report from the city that there was a substantial drop in the number of the homeless living on the streets of Gotham. Immediately it sounded like a substantial amount of BS, so I waited a couple of days until I saw a follow up report on what is really going on in terms of the actual street homeless problem we face. Simply put, a 30% drop in the population is wholly unrealistic. The "official" homeless count of 2,328 presented by Mr. Hess from the DHS is even more incredulous than the drop.

From the NYT Cityroom:

The total of 2,328 people counted in the survey, Mr. Hess said, is “a far cry from the 4,395 that we first counted in 2005.”

Not a chance, responded the Coalition for the Homeless, an advocacy group in New York.

“The numbers released by the city today defy credibility and run counter to what New Yorkers observe every day on New York’s streets,” Mary Brosnahan, the executive director, said in a statement. “The Bloomberg administration is claiming that there is the same number of homeless people in New York City as in San Diego — a city with one sixth of New York’s population. Looked at over a four-year period the city is arguing it has cut street homelessness in half. Do New Yorkers really think there are half as many homeless people on our streets as four years ago?”

We certainly do not, unless you live at Gracie Mansion an expanding 17 E. 79th St. it is extremely difficult to not gauge our city's homeless problem as either staying the same or increasing. Even Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs knows better than to just sweep this problem under the rug:

“You know, this is a little bit counterintuitive,” said Deputy Mayor Linda I. Gibbs, who oversees homeless programs. “How is it that, in this economy, with everything that’s going on and all the need we see, with the recession, the loss of jobs, the instability in the housing market — how is it that we can see such a dramatic drop, a 30 percent drop, in street homelessness this year compared to last?”

We already know academia thinks these things are hooey. One of the city's spokesmen tried backpedaling after the response from advocates of the homeless and scientists who would have preferred to use a scientific methodology for counting those that live on the streets. I don't know if they answered Ms. Gibbs' question, but I will.

The reason we see such a drop is that the Mayor (and/or his Administration) wants to see that drop, whether it is real or imaginary. The "progress" he shows is a part of his business model for the city, so that the shareholders voters are more amenable to leaving him in charge for another four years. In that lies the ultimate problem, that Bloomberg runs the city as a business, and not like a city that its' citizens, whether they be homeless or not, deserve.

NYC Forcing Churches To Kick Homeless Out On The Street

A week ago the temperature here in NYC was in the mid 60s and now it's in the mid 20s, quite the precipitous drop. While most of us are lucky to be indoors to stay warm for the coming winter months, there are the other city residents who are not so fortunate. Plenty of religious and secular groups have helped to take care of the homeless, but the city made a terrible mistake by way of a ridiculous bureaucratic decision.

From The NY Daily News:

As temperatures fall and the economy crashes, 22 city churches have been told to stop providing beds for the homeless, advocates for the poor charged Friday.

"We will see hundreds of people who will not have a place to sleep. It's antithetical to what the mayor talks about," said Arnold Cohen, president of the Partnership for the Homeless, a nonprofit that serves as the middleman between the city and faith-based shelters.

The city recently began enforcing an often-overlooked rule that requires faith-based shelters to open five days a week, said Cohen who told a score of churches last month they no longer qualify to house the homeless.

The city Department of Homeless Services said these shelters - many that have been open three nights a week for decades - should never have been allowed to operate under terms of a contract with the Partnership.

DHS says they'll be making more beds available next year but in these budget crunching times, who knows if they'll keep that promise. Moreover, this is November and 2009 is still a while away. What are the homeless to do until then, just freeze?

That isn't all the city is going to do to the homeless population either. Starting in the spring they'll be closing drop-in centers at 8pm, denying many from coming in from outside to have a place to sleep. DHS claims that they just want people to sleep in the additional beds and not chairs, but the decision has clearly overlooked what advocates for the homeless have been telling the city. In the end, more people will be left out on the street this winter and next year with these changes.

Shame on DHS and Bloomberg for allowing this to happen. They should add more beds before even thinking about shutting those churches down from doing good deeds and allow the people who work with the homeless more of a say in making decisions. That would be common sense, but clearly the city doesn't have any.

Since When Is Feeding The Homeless A Crime?

When it comes to the homeless, there are plenty of men, women and children who sleep on the streets every night. For the most part they are hardly seen, whether we walk by them on the sidewalk or live in a comfortable suburban home away urban areas where many homeless are found. We must remember that they are people too, but it seems that isn't the case in Orlando, where it is a crime to feed them too much.

From Central Florida News:

Eric Montanez, 22, is with the group food not bombs. He was the first person arrested earlier this year on charges that he broke the rules when it comes to Orlando's limits on just how often the homeless can be fed and how many can be fed at one time.

Montanez argued in court the ordinance is unfair and criminalizes homelessness.

To show its support, the group organized Ladle Fest, a three-day large scale feeding at Lake Eola Park. It runs through Wednesday.

Food Not Bombs say it's dividing the feeding into several small groups so it doesn't violate the ordinance.

How does a city write these cruel and unusual laws. What kind of heartless people are there on their city council that they can make it a crime to give to the homeless? I am glad that Mr. Montanez was declared not guilty, but why was there even a trial to begin with?

Sleeping On The Subways

After the end of a long day, it isn't surprising to see someone that fell asleep on one of the subway lines. The dozers probably missed their stop, but once awake they can turn around at the next stop and go home to their warm comfortable beds. Unfortunately that is not the case for many of New York's homeless.

A recent survey showed that over 1,600 people regularly sleep on the trains, a 30 percent increase from last year. That is a real problem for many different reasons. First off it is a danger for the homeless that are preyed upon by certain criminals. Secondly many of these overnight riders tend to oversleep, leaving a foul stench inside the cars. I can recall at least one time where I got on the subway in the morning, saw a relatively empty car to get into, only to find that the reason no one was in there was because of an over-powering odor coming from a guy sprawled out on a bench.

On the bright side, there was a decline in the total amount the homeless in city. Nevertheless, it is still a problem that must be addressed so that these less fortunate members of society can get the help they need.

UES Biz Sues City To Remove Homeless From Sidewalk

Obviously the sidewalk outside Karl Kemp & Associates Antique store on Madison Ave in the Upper East Side is pricey real estate. The owner has had homeless people using the concrete slab outside as a residence for two years and he can't take it anymore. So the guy is suing the city for $1 million to clean up his exterior image.

From the NY Times:

Besides seeking $1 million in damages — the dealer’s lawyer said he put in a figure for legal reasons — the suit also asks for a restraining order requiring them to stay at least 100 feet from the store. The suit notes that the antiques dealer is located “within the heart of New York’s most exclusive Madison Avenue shopping district,” with neighbors like Gucci, Chanel and Prada.

Mr. Kemp says that the dress and behavior of the homeless people has discouraged some people from going into his store. The suit, which was filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Tuesday and was first reported in The New York Sun, identifies the homeless plaintiffs only as John Smith, John Doe, Bob Doe and Jane Doe.

The suit alleges that the Smith and Doe families have discouraged business from his store, while drinking heavily and harassing prospective customers. Mr. Kemp wishes they would take advantage of shelters and is encouraging it by appealing to his landlord to reroute the heating ducts that make the sidewalk so attractive.

The Coalition for the Homeless had some words for Mr. Kemp:

Shelly Nortz, deputy executive director for policy for the Coalition for the Homeless, said Mr. Kemp’s legal action was mean-spirited and that in her 25 years of working as an advocate for the homeless, she had never heard of a similar suit by an individual against a homeless person.

“I think it’s preposterous,” she said. “Until we see to it that every single homeless individual has a place to stay, this is our reality.”

Ms. Nortz also questioned the legitimacy of the lawsuit. “What law is it that these homeless individuals have violated?” she asked. “It’s not spelled out here. The complaint that they somehow occasionally occupy a space that is also home to Gucci and Chanel doesn’t mean that they’re breaking any law.”

Sorry Mr. Kemp, welcome to New York. Instead of complaining try helping out instead of waging a campaign against the homeless. Check out Daily Gotham's take on it as well.