Mamdani Reverses Course On Homeless Policy After Multiple Deaths

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday that his administration will resume clearing homeless encampments, reversing a decision made shortly after he took office to pause the practice.

Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist, initially halted the city’s homeless encampment sweeps on Jan. 5, days into his term, stating the need to develop a revised policy. Under that pause, the city had stopped actively dismantling makeshift camps that house people experiencing homelessness.

“I made a decision with my team to put a pause on that prior administration’s policy as we started to develop our own policy that would deliver far better outcomes for the city,” Mamdani told reporters last week.

Due to the recent cold snap, Mamdani issued a Code Blue, requiring city shelters to accept anyone seeking refuge from the cold.

Reports noted that at least 20 homeless people froze to death in recent weeks, which critics linked to his earlier policy of allowing them to remain on the streets.

“We knew that that is a policy that we would only deliver on once the prolonged Code Blue came to an end, because, as we know, in a Code Blue, the focus should be on getting homeless New Yorkers inside, not on the question of how we respond to structures,” Mamdani added.

In the announcement, Mamdani said his administration has completed planning for a new approach that emphasizes outreach and services. The Department of Homeless Services will lead the effort, replacing the New York Police Department’s prior role in encampment removals. Outreach teams are to spend several days engaging with unhoused residents before encampments are cleared.

Mamdani had also said on the campaign trail that homeless encampment sweeps were not helpful.

“If you are not connecting homeless New Yorkers to the housing that they so desperately need, then you cannot deem anything you’re doing to be a success,” he stated while campaigning to run the Big Apple, per AMNY.

The shift follows a period of unusually cold winter weather in the city. Public officials reported that at least 19 people died outdoors during the cold snap, though city authorities have said there is no direct evidence that those deaths were linked to the policy on encampments.

Mamdani’s revised policy includes advance notice to encampment residents and daily outreach by city workers for seven days prior to clearance. The mayor’s office said the goal is to connect more people with shelter and social services before an encampment is removed.

Supporters of the return to sweeps, including some city council members, have described the policy as a public safety measure in extreme weather conditions. Advocacy groups and homeless service providers have expressed concern that the approach could hinder trust between outreach workers and unhoused residents.

Mamdani’s reversal marks a departure from a campaign pledge to limit or end the use of encampment sweeps, reflecting ongoing debate in the city over how best to address homelessness and encampments.

According to the New York Post, the city government has received more than 3,300 complaints about homeless encampments since the beginning of this year. Mamdani’s administration is allocating funds in the new budget to add 60 more personnel to assist in getting homeless individuals off the streets.

“When Mayor Mamdani took office, he paused the failed encampment sweep policies of the past, making clear that the city would no longer rely on approaches that simply moved people from block to block without real support,” City Hall representative Matt Rauschenbach said.

“The goal is to maximize placements into shelter and connect unhoused New Yorkers to the services they need so that when DSNY clears an encampment on day seven, meaningful progress has already been made,” he added.