"Mamdani said that the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) will oversee any sweeps in the city - not the NYPD. The mayor said the responsibility better aligns with the work DHS does with providing services and support. This comes after Mamdani's administration paused the previous program in January and said it wanted to develop a policy that would produce better outcomes. Mamdani said the new approach is "far different.""
""Unlike in the past administration, where much of the interaction with a homeless New Yorker was defined by the first day when you'd provide a notice, and the seventh day when you'd initiate a sweep; in our administration, every single day of that time period will be characterized by outreach," said Mamdani. The mayor said daily outreach will allow DHS workers to build trust with people living in encampments before connecting them to services."
A new city policy assigns the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to oversee sweeps of homeless encampments instead of the NYPD. The change aligns operational responsibility with DHS's role in providing services and support. The prior program was paused in January to redesign procedures for better outcomes. The new approach emphasizes daily outreach during the seven-day period before any sweep, allowing DHS outreach workers to build trust and connect residents to services. Preliminary budget increases were included to sustain outreach over seven days and support continuous engagement aimed at improving transitions out of encampments.
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