Comptroller Stringer Releases Agency Watch List Report on Citywide Homelessness Spending

(New York, NY) – Today, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released an Agency Watch List report on Homeless Services Provider Agencies for the third year. The Agency Watch List spotlights city agencies that raise budgetary concerns due to rapidly increased spending and limited measurable results. The report revealed that total spending for homeless services grew by 138 percent between fiscal years 2014 and 2020, rising to a total of $3.5 billion. Spending grew by 8.7 percent between FY 2019 and FY 2020, or $284 million, driven in large part by pandemic-related spending. Despite extraordinary increases in spending for homelessness prevention and permanent housing, the homeless population in shelter has remained stubbornly high, resulting in rising costs for shelter and associated homeless services to meet the legal mandate to provide shelter.

Comptroller Stringer has urged the Administration to expand supportive housing that combines affordability with social services and is desperately needed to ensure homeless individuals and families can transition to independent living. Comptroller Stringer also called on the City to direct housing capital investment toward the creation of affordable housing within the reach of extremely low and very low-income households.

“Our city was already facing a mounting homelessness crisis before the pandemic hit, and COVID-19 has only exacerbated these challenges,” said Comptroller Stringer. “More New Yorkers are struggling and we need to meet this crisis with solutions that work. The City is spending more money than ever before on services that are supposed to help people overcome and prevent homelessness, but we are not seeing the reductions in homelessness that we should. We simply aren’t creating enough affordable and supportive housing to make a long-term difference in the lives of New Yorkers in need. We must ensure that every single dollar is being spent effectively and actually helping New Yorkers experiencing homelessness.”

Comptroller Stringer’s report highlights the impacts of COVID-19 on the City’s shelter population. While the number of shelter entrants dropped due to the eviction moratorium in place during the pandemic, federal assistance including unemployment benefits, and a fear of contagion, the single adult population continued its steady growth with 8,208 more single adults in shelter now than there were in March 2014, an 80% increase. The pandemic also spurred the City to further step-up its reliance on commercial hotels, entering into a nearly $300 million contract with the Hotel Association of New York City to place sheltered individuals in hotels in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among homeless populations.

This year’s watch list report on Homelessness Services shows:

• Total spending for homeless services grew by 138 percent between fiscal years 2014 and 2020, rising to a total of $3.5 billion.
• In FY 2020, spending on Family Shelter operations fell for the first time, by $24 million or 2.1 percent.  Overall spending grew by 8.7 percent, or $284 million, driven in large part by pandemic-related spending.

• Since this time two years ago, the number of children in shelter has declined by 5,358 – a 24 percent drop.  Most of this reduction occurred during the pandemic period.
• The single adult population has continued its steady growth.  There are now 8,208 more single adults in shelter than there were in March 2014, an 80% increase.
• Most categories of homeless residents saw steep declines in shelter entrances in the first six months of the pandemic. Several factors likely explain the drop, including the eviction moratorium in place during the pandemic, federal assistance including unemployment benefits, and a fear of contagion.
• The number of families with children entering shelter, which typically peaks in the fall at around 1,100, was roughly half that number in October of 2020.
• The falloff was even more pronounced among Adult Families, declining from an average of over 100 per month, to under 50. Single Adult shelter entrants also fell, but less dramatically, to 1,470 in October 2020.

The report also highlighted indicators that could provide the public with useful information, but are not currently reported or only partially reported.

To read Comptroller Stringer’s Homeless Services Agency Watch List report, click here.

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