Categories: New York City
09.29.2023
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced his plans to institute a hiring freeze across city agencies and require agency heads to cut 15% of their budgets by next spring – an effort to address the ongoing migrant crisis.
In response, the Supportive Housing Network of New York (the Network) issued the following statement from Executive Director Pascale Leone:
“A real commitment to solving New York’s housing and homelessness crises hinges on sufficient resources and staffing to successfully connect people in need with available units and services as quickly and efficiently as possible and accelerating the development of affordable and supportive projects. That commitment is threatened by Mayor Adams’ latest proposed hiring freeze and budget cuts – 5% by November, another 5% by January, and another 5% by April.
If these cuts are instituted, they will have a disastrous impact on the city’s supportive housing system and the already strained agencies charged with overseeing mental health and housing programs and projects, delaying development timelines and putting housing opportunities and services for vulnerable New Yorkers out of reach.
Critical housing and homelessness-related agencies on which New Yorkers across the five boroughs – including HPD, DHS, HRA, DOB, DCP, and DOHMH – are already dangerously under-staffed and under-resourced creating delays in building and filling desperately needed housing. This cannot continue. They must be held harmless in the face of the Mayor’s fiscal austerity measures. Failing to do so will unnecessarily put individuals in desperate need of safe, reliable housing coupled with on-site voluntary services at risk – especially as the mounting migrant crisis has exacerbated housing insecurity and homelessness citywide.
If Mayor Adams truly wants to fulfill his vision of combatting homelessness and supporting New Yorkers, he will invest in housing-related agencies and increase their staff rather than implement dangerous cuts and freezes that will only make a bad situation worse.”