Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Faith leaders decry Mayor Adams' sweeps of homeless encampments
By
Chau Lam
Published Apr 15, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Gwynne Hogan/Gothamist
By
Chau Lam
Published Apr 15, 2022
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Dozens of New York faith leaders on Good Friday condemned Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign to break up homeless encampments, calling the policy “immoral and inhumane.”
In a letter sent to the mayor Friday, the 56 leaders representing Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Humanists urged the mayor to end the homeless sweeps and instead focus on providing suitable alternatives to living on the streets and in the subways.
“When you separate people from their belongings and makeshift homes on the streets, and fail to provide them with a better option, you are only shuffling people around and traumatizing them further,” according to the letter signed by the faith leaders.
An Adams spokesperson, Charles Lutvak, declined to comment and pointed to remarks the mayor made on April 8th, when Adams said his administration would not “allow the normalizing of people living on our streets.”
Previously, the mayor said outreach workers who engaged with people living on the street offered a range of housing options. Adams had also said 350 low-barrier beds opened in March but advocates said those beds were planned about two years ago under the Bill de Blasio administration.
When you separate people from their belongings and makeshift homes on the streets, and fail to provide them with a better option, you are only shuffling people around and traumatizing them further.
Letter from faith leaders opposing dismantling of homeless encampments
Advocates say thousands of people choose to live in the streets because the city's large, congregate shelters are unsafe. Advocates said safe havens offer more services, fewer curfews and rules.
The 56 leaders represent more than 300 religious organizations, mostly in the five boroughs with a few outside the city. One group has a few dozen members and the larger one has more than 10,000 members.
The leaders asked Adams to open temporary accommodations that are safe, private and dignified, including so-called safe havens, a type of shelter that has on-site medical services or connections to other services such as case management, and housing placement services. The solution to homelessness, they say, is permanent housing.
“Rather than simply trying to make homelessness less visible to those of us who are lucky enough to be housed, we asked you to listen to the homeless New Yorkers who tell us that what they need to get off the streets is housing,” according to the letter signed by the group.
This Sunday, the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister in charge of Middle Church in the East Village, said her congregants, like Christians around the world, will remember the resurrection of Christ.
“You are the resurrection. That's what I'm preaching,” Lewis told Gothamist. “When you rise up out of your selfishness and care for the others, you are the resurrection. When you take care of the poor, you are the resurrection.”
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the name of Middle Church. This story has also been updated to clarify the attribution of statements made by the mayor and his spokesperson.
Tagged
homeless policy
eric adams
Chau Lam
Chau Lam was a reporter at Gothamist.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Driver found with apparent gunshot wound on George Washington Bridge, officials say
The westbound upper level was closed Tuesday night as Port Authority police investigated the incident.
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 8:54 p.m. ET
16 arrested in New York auto insurance fraud crackdown involving nearly $500K
State officials say the cases include staged crashes and fraudulent medical claims, with seven arrests in the Bronx alone.
By
Giulia Heyward
News
16 arrested in New York auto insurance fraud crackdown involving nearly $500K
State officials say the cases include staged crashes and fraudulent medical claims, with seven arrests in the Bronx alone.
By
Giulia Heyward
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
By
Catalina Gonella
New renderings are out for Queens' Metropolitan Park casino
By
Willow Higgins
Inside Luigi Mangione's legal strategy before his federal guilty plea
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .