New York has failed to solve its homeless crisis for a half century. Well intentioned promises were made for community mental health programs and affordable housing, but they were never adequately fulfilled. The most comprehensive and inadequate response to homelessness remains New York’s court or dered right to shelter. In 1979, the state Supreme Court held that homeless men were entitled to “board and lodging “ under Article XVII, Section 1 of the state Constitution which provides “the aid, care and support of the needy are public concerns and shall be provided by the state and its subdivisions…” Courts extended this right to shelter to homeless women and families a few years later. Mayor Mamdani’s intention to uplift working people, the poor, and the unhoused is sincere. However, during the recent bitter cold and snow, rescue efforts to bring people indoors were insufficient. This is a moment to do better. The mayor can break the half century cycle of New York’s street homelessness. To do so, he must maintain pressure to succeed 365 days a year — not just in freezing weather. In the 1970s when New York State launched a policy of “deinstitutionalization,” which discharged psychiatric patients without providing adequate supportive community housing. The elimination of Single Room Occupancies, gentrification, and real estate policies recreated the mass homelessness last seen during the Great Depressions of the 1930s. The shelter system provided a refuge for those who became homeless. However, for too many people the conditions at the congregate shelters were frightening; they opted to live in the streets, public parks and subways. Yes, shelters save lives yet are a terribly inadequate option for the most vulnerable. Today there are approximately 4,500 people experiencing street homelessness. The Mamdani administration should ensure that no New Yorker needs to reside in our streets, parks and subways. No one wants to remain on the streets if an appropriate, humane option is available. How do we move people indoors? One, create supportive and affordable housing at a scale to meet demand. That means local, state, and federal elected and appointed officials, the business community, nonprofits, and Community Boards must work collectively to provide the political and financial commitment to do so. Two, single and double bed shelter placements, mental health care, and job training are essential complements to long term supportive housing. Three, the mayor, governor, and the City Council speaker should exploit their bully pulpits to trigger a public engagement campaign to inspire New Yorkers to volunteer as advocates for people living in the streets. Train citizen volunteers to go where the unhoused are to listen and learn what they need to leave the streets. Make it personal. Volunteering just several hours each week at the same locations allows greater human familiarity and connection, leading to trust, a key component of a successful effort to bring people off the streets. We know this model works. Since August 2022, the all-volunteer Street Homeless Advocacy Project (SHAP), which we helped found, has supported hundreds of unhoused individuals to leave public streets and parks and come inside. With the mayor’s leadership, an expanded SHAP effort will produce a win-win scenario for the unhoused and for the rest of us who believe that we can end street homelessness. Mr. Mayor, launch a conversation on how to solve New York’s homeless crisis at long last. Seize this moment to do what prior mayoral administrations, from Ed Koch to Eric Adams, could not do. It would be a noble legacy. Siegel is a former executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. Hayes is the president and CEO of the Community Healthcare Network. ...read more read less