Photo Courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
“We have the resources and a moral obligation to help our fellow New Yorkers, and not just walk by them and pretend it is someone else’s problem,” Mayor Adams said.
By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams recently announced the completion of the first portion of an enhanced effort to connect New Yorkers living on the streets and experiencing homelessness with social services, as well as the city’s efforts to clean up public spaces across the five boroughs.
Originally planned as a two-week intensive effort that began with initial cleanups on Friday, March 18, this first portion ended March 30 — two days ahead of schedule. The teams, comprised of members from a multi-agency task force, visited 244 locations and completed cleanup of 239 encampments across New York City — offering assistance to New Yorkers living on the street, while upholding the city’s Sanitation Code and maintaining cleanliness in public spaces. On Meeker Avenue in Brooklyn alone, task force members cleaned 10 separate locations — recovering 537 used needles, potentially for illegal drug use, across four of those locations.
“We are engaged in a multi-agency mission to get people the help they need and keep our public spaces clean, and we are getting that work done ahead of schedule,” said Mayor Adams. “As the mayor of all New Yorkers, I am not going to abandon my neighbors to face suffering, freezing, violence, or death — especially when the city has the power to help. Building trust takes time, but this is the right thing to do because there is no freedom or dignity in living in a cardboard box under an overpass. We have the resources and a moral obligation to help our fellow New Yorkers, and not just walk by them and pretend it is someone else’s problem.”
The first phase of the task force’s effort included initial visits to encampments across the city, as well as re-inspections of locations after the initial visits and a recanvass across the five boroughs to identify any new or remaining encampments. The task force conducted a total of 244 visits — and 239 of those sites have been cleaned.
The second phase of the task force’s effort will include an evaluation of recanvassing and scheduling of the next round of site visits. The task force will also return to the sites that remain active and have not yet been fully cleaned to complete that work. At some sites, teams visited and decided to delay cleaning to allow additional time needed by those living at those sites.
This multi-agency effort has been led by a task force that includes the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS), the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), the New York City Parks Department, and the New York City Police Department (NYPD). For a typical visit, a team has gone to an encampment, offering to connect any person who appears to be living on the street with social services — including shelter, other housing options, and medical, mental, and substance abuse health care — simultaneously cleaning up the public space. Each visit is prefaced with a written notice 24 hours in advance, and NYPD officers have had their body-worn cameras on throughout each engagement.
