NYC mayoral candidate Eric Adams has announced plans to convert former hotels that shuttered their doors during the pandemic into 25,000 housing shelters for the city’s homeless population – an idea which has divided New York City. Adams, 61, planned to create ‘supporting housing’ for the homeless, especially those suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues, in the outer boroughs of the city.
The move comes after wealthy Manhattan residents kicked up a fuss at the last attempt to tackle the city’s homeless crisis during the pandemic dared to locate their temporary housing in the Upper West Side. Rich residents even threatened to sue the city if they kept using the area’s vacant hotels as homeless shelters, citing heckling, public urination, drug use and open prostitution.
Adams may be able to avoid the same confrontation with wealthy, powerful and vocal residents, by locating the shelters in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park. The mayoral candidate says that he want to locate the shelters in the outer boroughs because they were harder hit by the lack of tourism during the COVID-19 lockdowns resulting in more hotels permanently shutting their doors. This will both create housing for the homeless, and reduce the number of vacant businesses in Brooklyn.
But others raised concerns that…
