Number of homeless adults in NYC shelters sets new record by the day
Oct. 6, 2022, 6:01 p.m.
The previous record of 38,838 adults in city-run shelters was set in January 2019. It was broken late last month — and every day after that.
There are more homeless adults living in the city shelter system than at any time since 2013 and the record-high number will likely be broken again.
City data also shows that the record for the total number of people in shelters – both kids and adults – is on the verge of being broken.
The figures, dating back to 2013 and posted on the city’s Open Data website, show that on Sept. 23 there were 39,136 adults in shelters overseen by the Department of Homeless Services. That was the first day that eclipsed the previous record, set on Jan. 30, 2019, of 38,838 adults. The number of adults in city shelters has steadily increased since late last month.
As of Tuesday, there were 41,107 adults in the shelters, according to a daily tally by Homeless Services.
Meanwhile, the overall homeless population in the shelters stood at 61,005 on Tuesday, just shy of 61,415, a high set on Jan. 12, 2019.
Nine buses carrying asylum seekers – the highest number in a single day – were expected to arrive at the Port Authority Bus Terminal on Thursday, said Zachary Iscol, the head of the city’s Office of Emergency Management, at a private meeting with members of the City Council. The information was shared with Gothamist.
But Jacquelyn Simone, director of policy at the Coalition for the Homeless, said the surge in asylum seekers from the U.S.-Mexico border was just one factor straining the shelter system.
“The increase in the shelter census is being driven by both an influx of new entrants to the shelter system — both by people who have been priced out of their housing and have become homeless as well as people who are more recent arrivals to the city,” said Simone. “But it's also being fueled by the delays in connecting people to permanent housing. So, more people are coming into the system and fewer people are exiting it, and as a result, the shelter census is increasing dramatically.”
As of Sunday, there were nearly 13,000 asylum seekers living in the city’s homeless shelter system, which was already operating near capacity before their arrival starting in the spring.
“In this new and unforeseen reality, where we expect thousands more to arrive every week going forward, the city’s system is nearing its breaking point,” Mayor Eric Adams said last month.
Under a decades-old court order, the city is required to provide shelter to all who seek it in a timely fashion. The city has admitted it violated that obligation twice over the summer.
Adams has said the city should “reassess” how it handles requests for shelter.
The city did not respond to a request for comment.
In response to the influx of migrants, the city has opened about 40 hotels and an assessment center in Manhattan offering services and temporary shelter. Earlier this week, Adams announced he would move a planned 500-bed tent city for asylum seekers from Orchard Beach in the Bronx to Randall’s Island.
The city is also considering temporarily housing migrants on a docked cruise ship. On Monday, Adams said he would announce the deal once it's final.
Simone said moving more people into permanent housing would lessen the strain on shelters.
“They wouldn't have to rely on tents and cruise ships and, and all of these other summer camps or whatever other ideas they've thrown around if they were actually getting a handle on housing placements and freeing up the beds for people who have been languishing in shelters,” said Simone.
Additional reporting by Arya Sundaram.