Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
In Mayoral Forum, Homeless New Yorkers Demand Answers For A Longstanding Crisis
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Feb 5, 2021
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
Elizabeth Kim
Published Feb 5, 2021
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
The city's leading mayoral candidates on Thursday faced probing questions from homeless New Yorkers, in a first-of-its-kind virtual forum that tried to draw commitments from the future mayor on issues such as the NYPD's role in responding to homeless issues, the future of congregate shelters, and whether the city should increase the amount of rental assistance to low-income individuals.
Shams DaBaron, who rose to prominence as an activist after de Blasio officials controversially attempted to relocate him and other residents from the Lucerne Hotel on the Upper West Side, served as one of the moderators.
"You’ve taken this time to say 'You matter, your voice matters, your votes counts. That says something so powerful," said DaBaron, who is also known as Da Homeless Hero, during his introductory remarks to the hours-long forum.
As with other mayoral events, candidates criticized Mayor Bill de Blasio's policies on a problem that has tested many mayors. Homelessness has sharply risen under the de Blasio administration. As of November, more than 57,000 people spent the night in a city shelter, a more than 60% increase from a decade ago, according to data tracked by the Coalition for the Homeless. The pandemic has heightened the urgency, as shelter residents have complained of overcrowded conditions that amount to a public health emergency.
Most of the candidates pledged to attack the crisis by creating more permanent affordable housing for homeless New Yorkers, responding to a years-long criticism of de Blasio's housing plan.
“We have a mayor that thinks you can solve homelessness with homeless programs. That is fundamentally wrong," said Shaun Donovan, the former housing secretary and budget director under President Barack Obama.
Similarly, Kathryn Garcia, the former sanitation commissioner, said, "We have to have a policy that is about permanent housing."
The city has completed more than 13,000 housing starts for homeless people since de Blasio took office, out of a total of 167,000 affordable units. Homeless advocates have said the share of homeless housing is way too small and called on the mayor to build 24,000 new affordable apartments and preserve another 6,000 more by 2026.
Finding available low-income housing sites has not always been easy, however.
City Comptroller Scott Stringer suggested that the city might see a "once in a generation opportunity" in converting empty office buildings and hotels into housing, an idea that other candidates have also espoused.
Stringer criticized both de Blasio and his predecessor Michael Bloomberg for being "in a race to build affordable housing" instead of meeting the needs of the community.
In one of the night's most notable exchanges, Dianne Morales, a former nonprofit executive who is one of the most left-leaning candidates, issued a shot at Stringer. “I just want to say, that unlike Scott, I’ve actually been talking to the people that are homeless for the last 15 years,” she said.
Under the city's new ranked-choice voting system, Morales recently received a co-endorsement from Bronx State Senator Gustavo Rivera, who gave his first place support to Stringer but assigned Morales as his number two choice.
She said that the city needs to move away from profit-driven private development and toward community ownership.
Several candidates argued that the city should increase its rental subsidy to low-income New Yorkers. The City Council is currently weighing a bill that would increase the vouchers to a federally mandated fair market value, legislation which all of the candidates said they supported.
“We can increase the rent subsidy so there is a permanent home," Garcia said.
Donovan argued for securing greater federal assistance to help low-income renters. He said he would work with President Joe Biden, who during his campaign announced a significant expansion of Section 8 vouchers. The federal rental assistance program allows voucher holders to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent and utilities while the government pays the remaining amount. Under Biden's proposal, Section 8 would be made available to any family that qualifies.
Many advocates, however, have cited housing discrimination as a hurdle for those with vouchers.
Donovan and Maya Wiley were among several candidates that said they were in favor of ending congregate shelters, in which residents share rooms and common areas. Donovan said he would look to safe havens, which have private rooms, on-site services and a lower barrier to entry.
De Blasio, who has said he wants to end street homelessness, has begun a plan to open 1,000 safe havens across the city.
The mayoral contenders were more divided on the issue of the role of the NYPD in responding to homeless individuals. During the forum, DaBaron detailed the humiliating experience in which he said he was taken away in handcuffs by police.
“They brought me to a police station, made me take off my sneakers and threw me into a cell and then threatened to give me a ticket unless I entered the shelter system," he said.
But Garcia, Loree Sutton, and Adams were noncommittal about ending NYPD involvement in homeless outreach.
Adams said he hesitated because he believed police should be called during instances of violence, although Corinne Low of the Open Hearts Initiative, a homeless advocacy group who co-moderated the forum, said that most would agree on that point.
In a departure from his progressive opponents, Ray McGuire, the former Citigroup banking executive who is seen as the pro-business candidate, suggested that government could not be the sole solution for creating more affordable housing. He said New Yorkers needed to be open to public-private partnerships.
“We can’t be divided," he said.
Absent from the forum was Andrew Yang, who earlier this week tested positive for COVID-19.
Tagged
mayoral election
election 2021
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
A fifth person dies after a medical emergency in NYPD custody this year
A 48-year-old man was held for roughly 20 hours at Brooklyn Central Booking before he collapsed in his cell. He died three weeks later, and the medical examiner has not determined a cause.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 11, 2026 at 4:08 p.m. ET
Park Slope locals outraged by catnapping of bodega kitten: ‘It’s unconscionable’
The cat caper has the neighborhood up in arms and on the hunt for a couple caught on surveillance camera walking away with the 3-month-old white kitten.
By
Stephen Nessen
News
Park Slope locals outraged by catnapping of bodega kitten: ‘It’s unconscionable’
The cat caper has the neighborhood up in arms and on the hunt for a couple caught on surveillance camera walking away with the 3-month-old white kitten.
By
Stephen Nessen
5 Bronx buildings had no recent record of monthly testing before Legionnaires’ outbreak
By
Joe Hong
Cluster of community cats found dead in Brooklyn. Locals worry they were poisoned.
By
Catalina Gonella
City-backed nonprofit grocery stores have come to Newark
By
Michael Sol Warren
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 .