Mamdani restarts policy of clearing out homeless encampments following double-digit death toll from cold exposure |
Mamdani restarts policy of clearing out homeless encampments following double-digit death toll from cold exposure
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says the city will resume clearing makeshift homeless encampments, promising to take a more humane approach to a practice he previously criticized.
Mamdani paused the previous mayor’s policy for clearing encampments days after he took office in January, arguing that it did not do enough to get people into housing.
But the Democrat on Wednesday said his new approach — led by the city’s homeless services department, rather than police, and involving days of sustained outreach — will be more successful.
“We will meet them looking to connect them with shelter, looking to them with services, looking to connect them with a city that wants them to be sheltered and indoors and warm and safe. And that is something that I believe will yield far better results,” he said at an unrelated news conference.
The decision came as at least 19 people........