Comptroller Brad Lander speaks at the 190th CityLaw Breakfast. Image Credit: CityLand.
On April 18, 2024, the New York City Comptroller Brad Lander launched Charting Homelessness in NYC, a dashboard that will track NYC’s shelter population, eviction filings, and shelter exits with housing vouchers in an effort to collect data around factors that contribute to homelessness.
In 2021, the City had around 45,000 daily individuals in Department of Housing Services’ (DHS) shelters, the lowest numbers in over ten years. However, the pandemic-era eviction moratorium ended resuming evictions and the City experienced an influx of new asylum seekers in the summer of 2022. Over the past two years the shelter population has jumped 167% however the number of people moving from shelters to NYCHA housing is at its lowest level in a decade.
Due to a combination of factors, the City’s shelter population now sits around 120,000 daily individuals. In addition, renters are now facing economic costs brought on by the pandemic resulting in high rent costs. The Bronx is facing the brunt of these rent hikes as Bronx residents have had the largest number of eviction filings by landlords in housing court over the past few years. The New York City Comptroller intends to use this dashboard as a tool to track homelessness trends and monitor the City’s efforts to transfer residents out of shelters and into stable housing.
Comptroller Brad Lander said, “We urgently need to combat the homelessness crisis, and we have a much better chance of doing that effectively if we look clearly and consistently at the data. Looking squarely at eviction trends can focus the City’s efforts to prevent evictions and keep people in their homes in the first place. And looking at what’s effective in helping people exit shelter keeps our eye on the goal of making sure that every New Yorker has a stable and affordable place to live.”
By: Meg Beauregard (Meg is the CityLaw intern, and a New York Law School student, Class of 2024).
New York City Comptroller: “Comptroller Lander Unveils New Dashboard to Track Shelter Population, Eviction, Housing Vouchers, & More” (April 18, 2024).