New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is not planning to continue clearing out homeless encampments in his city when he takes office.
The Democratic Socialist made his comments Thursday at a news conference when asked if he would continue the practice Mayor Eric Adams (D) began. He said, “No,” The City reported.
Mamdani explained, “If you are not connecting homeless New Yorkers to the housing that they so desperately need, then you cannot deem anything you’re doing to be a success.”
The mayor-elect said he plans to address the issue through his proposed Department of Community Safety to connect those individuals to some form of housing.
“What we have seen is the treatment of homelessness as if it is a natural part of living in this city, when in fact it’s more often a reflection of a political choice being made time and time again,” he added.
However, a former New York City Police Department (NYPD) chief criticized Mamdani’s plan to stop the sweeps and explained there was more to be considered when it came to the issue, per the New York Post.
John Chell wrote in a social media post, “Under current law, you generally cannot force individuals into shelter — and the majority refuse services. Outreach does not automatically mean acceptance. Ending street intervention programs before building sufficient housing, shelter, and treatment capacity is not a plan — it’s a gamble.”
“Those resources must be created first and clearly codified. Otherwise, the predictable result will be a sharp rise in encampments, declining street conditions, and serious quality-of-life impacts across our neighborhoods,” he added, highlighting the fact it appeared Mamdani’s plan was more socialist rhetoric that would not work in the real world.
The Post article said Mamdani did not offer specific details on how the issue would be addressed.
In 2022, a report said 73 percent of border crossers and illegal aliens being bused to New York City from Texas were in homeless shelters that were filled to capacity.
The Breitbart News article noted “Adams, a proponent of the city’s sanctuary policy, is now warning New Yorkers that ‘the city is going to run out of funding for other priorities,’ and they may end up footing a $1 billion bill if the inflow of illegal immigration does not stop.”
More recently, the outlet reported New York City was going to spend $65 million on a homeless shelter for so-called “transgender” people.
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