Record-High Street Homeless Count a Sign of City’s Growing Housing Crisis
Nearly 5,000 people were homeless on the streets of New York one night earlier this year, a sign of a persistent housing affordability crisis in the city.
The annual point-in-time count saw more people experiencing street homelessness than any year since the survey started in 2005. The record number grew by 400 people compared to last year, when outreach teams recorded 4,505 people sleeping outdoors.
Officials said they expected a higher number because the count—called the Homeless Outreach Population Estimate, or HOPE survey—was conducted in March, rather than the usual January, due to a prolonged cold spell in the city earlier this winter. They warned that the count often fluctuates with the temperature, and this year’s was higher than average.
But experts say the exact tally is less important than the trend it demonstrates: that homelessness on the rise. As housing costs remain high and the number of available apartments for low-income families has plunged to historic lows, the number of unhoused New Yorkers has grown, even as city officials take steps to create more affordable housing.
“New York City’s housing crisis is getting worse, and particularly for the lowest income people in our city, and so as a result, we’re seeing more people in the shelters and more people on the streets,” said David Giffen, CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless.
What's ahead this week in housing: Brooklyn NAACP, Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman, the Office of the Attorney General, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and AARP will host a Deed Theft Town Hall in Bed-Stuy on Saturday, with lawyers on‑site, resources, and an expert panel.
