Nearly half a year into the New York City’s effort to clear homeless encampments and connect the unhoused with wraparound services, the debate swirls on whether the initiative is helping or hindering New York City’s most vulnerable.
In March 2022, Mayor Eric Adams attempted to position himself as a defender of the unhoused. He had come up against one of his first major challenges in office: a gun-toting serial-killer who was taking the lives of homeless individuals across two states. Standing inside the 13th Precinct, Adams looked to make it clear that he cared about the city and all of its people, even the unfortunate souls who slept on the streets.
