NYC pronounces $2.6 billion funding to struggle homelessness – Information

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday announced a massive $2.6 billion housing investment to help NY City’s homeless, declaring that the city would not wait for NY state’s help in combating a growing crisis that has dominated headlines and damaged the mayor’s poll numbers.

Started in 1980, the city’s supportive housing network of 32,000 units provides residences and resources to those suffering from mental and physical illnesses, trauma, and addiction; in the expanded plan announced today, it will also be available to veterans and survivors of domestic abuse.

Each unit costs the city approximately $30,000 per year, tens of thousands of dollar less than the cost of housing an individual in a shelter.

Mary Brosnahan, the head of Coalition for the Homeless and “a voice of conscience”, according to de Blasio, said, “It’s really hard to overstate the significance of this tremendous announcement” and called it “a victory for all New Yorkers”.

Under supportive-housing programs, people pay a portion of their income and are provided with services plus the housing. “It was time for NY City to act”.

The city expects to support the construction of 7,500 supportive-housing apartments over the coming years. But perhaps the bigger disconnect was over how much of the tab for operating costs each government should pick up-the city wanted to contribute just 20 percent to the state’s 80 percent, as it has in the past, while the state was calling for a 50/50 split.

It also places the ball in Cuomo’s court, said advocates.

Roughly 25,000 of those units would have been in the city.

Cuomo has repeatedly jabbed at de Blasio recently by commenting on the city’s homelessness problem.

“This is the answer”, said de Blasio.

Wanda Hernandez Parks, chairwoman of the board of directors for Vocal NY, praised what she called the “most-needed” plan in the city. “I think the city should spend more”, he said. “We are not waiting on Albany”.