City Relief Co-Signs Successful Letter Urging Reversal of Shelter Access Policy
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Mayor Zohran Mamdani is revoking a policy implemented by his predecessor that made it harder to access some forms of shelter in New York City.
The policy made it so New Yorkers living on the streets could only get a bed in a so-called “low-barrier” shelter if they provided official documentation showing they had spent at least six months on the streets or six months in and out of city shelters.
The policy — which former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration relied on for years amid an influx of migrants into the shelter system — was set to become an official city rule this Thursday.
In a statement to Playbook late Monday, Mamdani spokesperson Matthew Rauschenbach said the mayor is scrapping the policy, preventing it from becoming an official rule.
“We will work to establish a new standard that provides the flexibility needed to protect some of the city’s most vulnerable residents and ensure they can be placed into shelter,” Rauschenbach said. “Mayor Mamdani has already taken emergency action to accelerate the opening of safe haven sites — high-quality shelter that helps people experiencing homelessness move closer to long-term stability — during this winter weather emergency.”
Rauschenbach did not immediately provide more details on the new policy being promulgated.
Low-barrier shelters, known as Safe Havens, are small-scale residential facilities designed for homeless people suffering from mental illness or substance abuse. The sites are seen by many unhoused individuals as preferable alternatives to congregate shelters that typically have more admission rules and higher rates of violence.
Mamdani’s rescission announcement came after the New York Legal Assistance Group, VOCAL-NY, Housing Works, City Relief, Safe Horizon and five other homeless advocacy groups sent a letter to Mamdani urging him to scrap the policy.
Letting the Adams-era rule become official would be “cruel and antithetical to the goals of low-barrier shelter” — especially at a time the Big Apple’s being gripped by cold spell, the groups wrote in the letter provided to Playbook.
“Given the recent exposure deaths of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness on our City’s streets, this rule is in direct contradiction to your commitment to ensure that unsheltered New Yorkers receive the care that they need,” the groups wrote.
At least 18 New Yorkers have died from the cold spell since temperatures in the city began plunging in late January.
Adams’ administration rolled out the low-barrier rule with the idea it would reserve low-barrier shelter space for people who need it most. The homeless advocacy groups argued Mamdani should “focus on more effective solutions,” citing a need to increase low-barrier shelter capacity and ensure “that people who utilize those beds receive the on-site case management needed to transition to permanent housing solutions.”
