Because of an acute shortage in accommodations for the city's homeless, NYC's Department of Homeless Services (DHS) is willing to pay exorbitant sums to house the needy in privately owned buildings. The practice is not without its critics.
Joseph Berger spotlights the DHS's lucrative practice of subsidizing the private operational of homeless shelters, which has persuaded landlords such as Alan Lapes, who owns or leases about 20 of the 231 shelters citywide, to convert their buildings (often one room at a time) into shelters.
"With the number of homeless people rising to 30-year record levels — over 47,216 people as of early this month, 20,000 of them children — the city has struggled to find landlords willing to accommodate a population that includes people with mental health and substance abuse problems. So the city has resorted to housing adults in single-room-occupancy buildings originally designed for long-term residents who pay stabilized rents," explains Berger.
"Most of the other shelters and residences are run by the city or by nonprofit agencies, but [Lapes's] operation is profit-making, prompting criticism from advocates for the homeless and elected officials."
"Mr. Lapes has lately stirred anger for his contracts through the Department of Homeless Services. More than 200 residents and elected officials packed a community meeting last week to express outrage at the transformation of two buildings he owns on West 95th Street into homeless shelters, without the usual public and legislative scrutiny."
“The city needs to make sure there’s affordable housing instead of waiting for shysters to come forward to make thousands of dollars off these poor unfortunate people,” State Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, a Manhattan Democrat, said at the meeting, promising to push for reforms. “Getting rid of the profit motive will reduce some of the bad actors.”
FULL STORY: For Some Landlords, Real Money in the Homeless
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.