Gotham Gazette

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Homelessness

Homelessness

  • The Week That Was in New York Politics, Nov 30-Dec 4

    week in review bus readers

    photo: Stanley Kubrick via Museum of the City of New York


    Gotham Gazette's Week in Review, Friday December 4, 2015

    PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Sheldon Silver outside the courthouse, via Zack Fink of NY1

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  • As Homelessness Crisis Continues, Shelter Siting Questions Intensify

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    Council Member Miller & a constituent (photo: @IDaneekMiller)


    When the city’s Department of Homeless Services was quickly and quietly moving homeless families into the former Pan American Hotel in Elmhurst, Queens last June, the response from locals was swift and sharp. A group of Chinese immigrants and a local Republican club organized a protest against the new facility, saying city officials had unfairly targeted the neighborhood. Things got ugly. Shouts of “Get a job!” by protesters were

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  • City Set to Hit Functional Zero Veteran Homelessness, Though Challenges Remain

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    Mayor de Blasio at the Veterans Day parade (photo via the mayor's office)


    City officials said Thursday that New York is on course to house all of its homeless veterans by the end of this year. At a City Council hearing held by the general welfare and veterans committees, de Blasio administration representatives said they would meet a previous promise to find housing for all military veterans without.

    "When Mayor de Blasio first took office in January 2014, there were over 1,600 homeless men and women who served our country in our shelters or in

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  • The Week Ahead in New York Politics, November 9

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to watch for this week in New York politics:

    Wednesday is Veterans Day, with parades, resource fairs, and events to honor and aid veterans taking place before, on, and after the day itself. Mayor Bill de Blasio will hold a breakfast reception to honor the military veterans Wednesday morning. On Thursday, the City Council will hold a hearing on veteran homelessness, which the mayor vowed to end by the end of this year as part of a national pledge.

    The

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  • De Blasio Attempts to Undo Negative First Impressions

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    De Blasio at a press conference (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    It's hard to go a few hours in New York political circles without hearing a joke about the mayor being late. Mayor de Blasio earned the taunts, having had a punctuality problem, which offended many New Yorkers. These days, de Blasio is almost never late for public events, though, seeming to have corrected what should have been an avoidable mistake of his early tenure.

    Still, nearly two years into his term, de Blasio is dogged by a reputation for tardiness, as well as other

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  • In Effort to Ensure Sound Education, City Battles Student Homelessness

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    De Blasio speaks, with DHS' Taylor foreground (photo: Demetrius Freeman/Mayor's Office)


    This summer saw the city’s street homeless population become a tabloid sensation, with Mayor de Blasio seemingly forced into addressing the increase in homeless people on New York sidewalks. With shelters overflowing despite the city opening dozens of new ones, and a typical warm-weather increase in those who prefer the street to the often dangerous conditions of those shelters, the mayor announced several

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  • The Week That Was in New York Politics, September 21-25

    week in review bus readers

    photo: Stanley Kubrick via Museum of the City of New York


    Gotham Gazette's Week in Review, Friday September 25

    PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: Mayor de Blasio greets Pope Francis, via @BilldeBlasio; Pope Francis at the 9/11 memorial, ...

  • The Week That Was in New York Politics, August 31-September 4

    week in review bus readers

    photo: Stanley Kubrick via Museum of the City of New York


    Gotham Gazette's Week in Review, Friday September 4

    PHOTOS OF THE WEEK:Mayor de Blasio rides the Staten Island Ferry, via Anna Sanders; de Blasio visits a homeless encampment, ...

  • On Twitter, De Blasio Continues Recent Efforts at Direct Public Contact

    BdB subway mayors office

    Mayor de Blasio on the subway (@NYCMayorsOffice)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio appears to be making a concerted effort to increase his direct, public interactions with New Yorkers. The mayor, who is more than halfway through his second year in office and has seen his public opinion poll numbers slide, took to Twitter Monday afternoon for a live chat, during which he replied eleven times to people who tweeted questions for him using the hashtag ...

  • City Fights to Stem Annual Tide of Summer Family Homelessness

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    Mayor de Blasio, at podium, & DHS Commissioner Taylor, left (photo: @NYCDHS)


    New York City is home to about 10 percent of the homeless population in the United States. By the end of 2014, the number of homeless in the city's shelters reached a historic high of nearly 60,000 that included 25,849 children. But since the start of this year, there has been an 11 percent decrease in homeless children. As of July 10, the figure stood at 22,864 homeless children according to ...

  • Breaking Down the City Budget

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    Mayor & Speaker at budget announcement (photo: Demetrius Freeman/Mayor's Office)


    Wednesday, July 1, marked the beginning of the new fiscal year under a $78.6 billion budget agreed upon by Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council.

    When he unveiled his preliminary budget outline in February, de Blasio ...

  • 7 Points of Contention as City Budget Deal Finalized

    BdB MMV RI

    Mayor de Blasio & Speaker Mark-Viverito talk (photo: William Alatriste)


    “This year we're fighting for much-needed funds that will get #NYC 6-day library service citywide, more police, better parks & much more,” tweeted City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer on Monday morning.

    Van Bramer, who chairs the Council’s cultural affairs committee, where the debate over library funding has largely been

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  • Proven Homelessness-Fighting Program Loses State Funding, Faces Uncertain Future

    Cuomo church appearance

    Gov. Cuomo (photo: Office of the Governor - Kevin P. Coughlin) 


    More than 60,000 people will spend the night in a New York City homeless shelter tonight. Estimates suggest roughly one-third struggle with untreated mental illness, many of whom find themselves trapped in a turbulent cycle of life including jail, psychiatric wards, homeless shelters and living on the streets.

  • The Mayor's Vacant Lots

    vacant lot - Walton Ave - Bronx

    A vacant lot in the Bronx


    City Seeks to Sharpen Picture of Vacant Lots and Add Incentives to Boost Affordable Housing

    A neat stretch of row houses comes to an abrupt halt at 2247 Walton Ave., in the Bronx, where a boarded-up house warning of rat poison sits beside a fenced-in lot covered in dead grass and garbage. The site has remained empty for several years and has served as an effective backdrop for media events held by Picture the Homeless, an advocacy group headquartered

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