Mamdani to end NYC encampment sweeps
New York City Mayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani said Thursday he will halt homeless encampment sweeps when he takes office in January, breaking from Mayor Eric Adams’ 2022 initiative. Mamdani said his administration will prioritize connecting people to long‑term housing and cited a 2023 Comptroller audit that found sweeps largely failed to place people in shelter.
📌 Key Facts
- Mamdani announced the change Thursday at a Manhattan event, pledging to stop sweeps starting in January 2026.
- He framed the shift toward long‑term housing solutions (supportive or rental), calling sweeps unsuccessful without housing connections.
- A 2023 NYC Comptroller audit found only 119 of 2,308 people encountered during 2022 cleanups accepted temporary shelter; the article cites ~45,000 encampment complaints in 2025.
📊 Relevant Data
The 2024 point-in-time count found 140,134 people experiencing homelessness in the New York City CoC, including 132,892 sheltered and 2,808 unsheltered.
2024 Point-In-Time Count Report by CoC — National Homeless Information Project
In FY 2024 (July 2023 to June 2024), among heads of households in families with children in NYC shelters, 59.1% were Hispanic, 31.6% were Black non-Hispanic, 3.4% were White non-Hispanic, 0.8% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.2% were Native American, and 4.9% were unknown; for context, NYC's population is approximately 29% Hispanic, 21% non-Hispanic Black, 31% non-Hispanic White, and 16% Asian.
DHS DATA DASHBOARD - FISCAL YEAR 2024 Q4 — New York City Department of Homeless Services
In FY 2024 (July 2023 to June 2024), among heads of households in adult family shelters in NYC, 56.3% were Black non-Hispanic, 28.9% were Hispanic, 7.8% were White non-Hispanic, 0.7% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.1% were Native American, and 6.2% were unknown; for context, NYC's population is approximately 21% non-Hispanic Black, 29% Hispanic, 31% non-Hispanic White, and 16% Asian.
DHS DATA DASHBOARD - FISCAL YEAR 2024 Q4 — New York City Department of Homeless Services
Asylum seekers in emergency shelters accounted for almost 88% of the increase in sheltered homelessness in New York City between 2023 and 2024.
The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
In the United States, Black people were five times as likely to experience homelessness than White people in 2023, with factors such as disparities in incarceration, foster care involvement, and poverty contributing to these disparities.
Structural Racism and Black-White Disparities in Homelessness in the United States — Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities