Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani hit back Tuesday at criticism over his plan to stop clearing homeless camps — but still came up short on concrete alternatives and failed to address quality of life concerns.
The democratic socialist pol slammed the current policy for policing street encampments under Mayor Eric Adams, noting the city had failed to connect any homeless people caught up in the sweeps to permanent housing last year.
“What I’m opposed to is the failure that we’ve seen to characterize the Adams administration’s approach to this,” he said, when asked where he drew the line in ending the current policy — and if he’d even ban sweeps in instances where someone is camping out in a subway car or across a sidewalk.
“What I’m opposed to is looking at an entire calendar year and seeing the Adams administration be unable to connect a single homeless New Yorker that was affected by those sweeps to permanent housing,” Mamdani railed at a press conference in Lower Manhattan’s frigid Canal Park.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani hit back at criticism over his plan to stop the Adams administration’s homeless encampment sweeps. Paul Martinka
The outgoing mayor has fiercely hit back at his successor’s plan, announced last week, to end the major Adams admin initiative that ramped up in 2022.
Hizzoner argued that allowing homeless New Yorkers to stay outside in the cold was “inhumane” and said it wasn’t realistic to think the city could let people camp out on the streets.
But Mamdani failed to deliver concrete policy points when pressed Tuesday about how he’d address quality-of-life issues.
“New Yorkers are wondering in that very specific scenario where there is something affecting the quality of life … What does Mayor Mamdani do?” one reporter asked.
“Mayor Mamdani ensures that we connect those New Yorkers with actual housing,” he said, without specifying how his administration would convince homeless people to get off the streets.
Hochul said she was supportive of a combination approach that sweeps encampments and connects homeless New Yorkers to housing. Brigitte Stelzer
“We cannot allow ourselves to become complacent with what has become the norm in this city, and that doesn’t mean leaving New Yorkers to sleep in the cold,” Mamdani continued, stopping short of mentioning involuntary commitment and whether he supports its use.
Mamdani, who takes office next month, addressed reporters after a closed-door meeting with real estate bigwigs, some of whom have raised alarms about how the up-in-the-air policy could affect the industry.
Gov. Kathy Hochul – Mamdani’s political ally – has also tried to distance herself from soon-to-be mayor’s sweeping claims.
Hochul “supports an approach that combines enforcement – including sweeps when needed – with connection to supportive housing and mental health and substance abuse services,” a spokesperson for the governor said in a statement.
Mayor Eric Adams called leaving New Yorkers to live out in the cold “inhumane.” Paul Martinka
A spokesperson for Mamdani said involuntary commitment was not a major topic at the mayor-elect’s meeting with real estate honchos — including Emma Pfohman of the Association for a Better New York, and Kathy Wylde and her successor, Steven Fulop, of the Partnership for New York City.
One source said the conversation covered housing vouchers and supportive housing, and that the issue of the property tax system was also raised.
— Additional reporting by Crag McCarthy