Mamdani Criticized for Continuing Homeless Sweeps

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is being criticized for his approach to clearing homeless encampments, which he says will differ from former Mayor Adams’ more punitive approach.

As Patrick Spauster and Jeanmarie Evelly explain in City Limits, Mamdani announced last week that the city will resume encampment cleanups despite having previously promised to end the practice. “Mamdani said that the key difference between how his administration will handle public encampments and Mayor Eric Adams’ approach—which he called a ‘failure’—is an emphasis on engaging street homeless individuals to direct them to services and housing.” Under Mamdani’s plan, the sweeps will be led by the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) rather than NYPD and that outreach workers would visit sites daily for a full week before forcibly removing anyone.

“But homeless advocacy groups said they see little difference between Mamdani’s plan and those of past city leaders. While the NYPD led encampment sweeps during the Adams administration, Mayor Bill de Blasio also centered DHS outreach workers, with similarly poor results, critics say.” For advocates like Marcus Moore, an organizer with Safety Net Activists who was formerly unhoused himself, “There’s no new version of sweeps or a better version of sweeps.”