City Hall claimed Wednesday that 1,300 homeless New Yorkers have left the Big Apple’s subway system to claim a bed in a shelter in the three months since the start of Mayor Eric Adams’ crackdown.
The figures suggest that another 600 accepted a bed in a city shelter — up from the 700 who had reportedly gone through intake and accepted a placement as of April.
“Three months into our work making subways safer and connecting New Yorkers in need with services, and it is evident that our efforts are working,” said Adams in a statement.
Hizzoner rolled out the program in February, which promised to deploy as many as 30 teams — consisting of two cops, a social worker and a nurse — to convince or cajole homeless New Yorkers sleeping in stations or on the trains to go into the city’s shelters.
But those sleeping underground have often spent time in shelters and are wary of returning because of the widespread complaints about oft-unsafe and decrepit conditions in the facilities.
City Hall and the Department of Homeless Services said the tally contains no duplicates and is a count of unique persons who have entered the shelter system at least once since the program began.
However, officials declined to say how many of the 1,300 have remained in the shelter system after entering it.