Back to the Future: NYC Mayor Launches Homeless Sweep
Critics say Mayor Eric Adams' decision to clear homeless people out of public spaces carries echoes of “broken windows” policies of the past and will accomplish little.
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Continuing his quest for public safety, New York Mayor Eric Adams has ordered that every homeless encampment in the city should be taken down within two weeks, promising that those removed will be placed “in healthy living conditions with wraparound services,” reports The Guardian. Adams’ decision comes amid a crime spike in the city and a series of high-profile violent attacks by homeless people. The number of people living in parks and on the streets estimated at around 1,100, a figure that is likely a serious undercount. Adams provided few details on exactly how housing and support services would be provided for the city’s homeless, and critics say sweeps of the subway system or clearing the streets carry echoes of “broken windows” policies of the past and accomplish little other than moving people from one subway stop to another or some other public space.
Meanwhile, The City reports that Adams has canceled a contract with an unlicensed firm that’s been providing security at hotels where inmates released from Rikers and state prisons have been placed as part of an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 and ordered a review of similar pandemic-related emergency contracts. Adams ordered the newly formed Mayor’s Office of Risk Management and Compliance to join with the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) and the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services “to jointly conduct a comprehensive review of all similar contracts and to provide any information and support requested by DOI.”
