This blog is a compendium of multiple media reports supplemented by my opinion, where noted.
He won’t be sworn in as mayor until January 1, but Comrade Mamdani is wasting no time in publicizing his radical plans. His first targets are NYC’s affordable housing and homeless crises. The two are interrelated. Their severity is beyond dispute. In 2024 NYC had the highest homeless population of any city,158,000. That is higher than LA, SF or any other city that has recently been featured in the news.
Why is the homeless problem so severe? Why has it persisted unabated for so many years? Most observers cite the following factors: sustained political control by the far left, a severe shortage of affordable housing, relatively stagnant wages compared to the rising cost of living, general poverty of nearly twice the national rate, unemployment, mental health issues, domestic violence and the sharp increase of the migrant population. NYC remains a very attractive designation for migrants due to its sanctuary policies, and a disproportional percentage of migrants have been taking advantage of them.
Shelters are overflowing. People that have been unable to get into one have been sheltering in homeless encampments, subways, abandoned/condemned buildings, public parks or the street. This fosters crime. Residents, even young children, are forced to walk past these unsightly and dangerous people or mingle with them on subways and buses on a daily basis. I don’t mean to seem unkind or callous, but it is sad to witness this further deterioration of the quality of life in a once-great city.
Between March 2022 and January 2024, the number of people sleeping in NYC shelters grew by 142% to a total of approximately 89,000, of which some 34,000 were asylum seekers. A portion of homeless people, many of which are substance abusers, actually prefer to sleep unsheltered, because they prefer the freedom compared to the rules and restrictions imposed by shelters, especially with respect to alcohol and drugs. Not surprisingly the NY Post reported that a national survey had disclosed that 3/4 of unsheltered homeless persons had a substance abuse problem, which was significantly higher than the rate for sheltered persons. Moreover, as of 2024 it was estimated that in excess of 200,000 people were doubling up in the homes of others, and over 154,000 NYC public school students had experienced homelessness.
Comrade M wants to terminate the current policy of clearing out the city’s homeless encampments. He asserts that the current policy is “cruel.” He would prefer that the homeless be relocated to “affordable housing.” Like most of his policies this sounds good, but it simply is not practical. The sheer numbers are so immense there aren’t enough units to accommodate all of them. Plus, NYC already has a severe shortage of affordable housing for the reasons cited above. Comrade M claims the city will build them, but that will take years and boatloads of money that NYC does not have. Furthermore, if and when these units become available why should the unsheltered get preference over others living in shelters who followed the rules? Once again, this policy exposes M’s lack of experience and comprehension of the real world.
In other cities, such as Austin and LA clearing out homeless encampments resulted in safer streets and fewer deaths among the homeless, so there is empirical evidence that supports the current policy. In NYC the NYPD, Department of Sanitation, and the Department of Homeless Services have combined to “clear out” in excess of 18,000 “makeshift” shelters since the advent of the program in March 2022.
Comrade M’s policy has been universally panned by experienced officials. The consensus opinions have characterized it as “dangerous naivete at best.” Outgoing mayor Eric Adams opined that “leaving people to suffer in the cold …is a disgrace.” Staten Island Republican Councilman David Carr foresees “tent cities in a matter of months.” John Chell, a recently retired NYPD Chief predicts “a sharp rise in shantytowns.” These comments conjure up images of the “Hoovervilles” of the Great Depression.
Comrade M’s simplistic and naive proposal to resolve the city’s homeless crisis is a representative example of his inexperience and incompetence. He has never run a business or managed anything. He doesn’t have the foggiest idea of how to run a fruit stand, much less a complex city like NYC. He puts forth a simple “solution” to a complex problem that sounds good but has no chance of working.
As denoted above the affordable housing and homelessness crises are characterized by many underlying causes that have frustrated many other administrations over the years. As always, his plan is devoid of details. What are the sources of the financing to pay for these housing units? The city is already severely strapped for funds. The state and the federal governments have not indicated they can or `would provide it. The only viable source would be a massive tax increase to a populace and business community that are already among the highest taxed in the country. Meanwhile, the city’s tax base is shrinking as businesses and residents continue to exit in droves while migrants, most of whom continue to soak up social services and pay no taxes, keep pouring in.
Who will construct these units? Where will they be built? How long will it take? The answers are we don’t know and significantly longer and more costly than the most pessimistic projections.
Conclusion
Folks, this is a portent of the next four years. We are trapped in a “lose-lose” situation. Either his policies will cripple NYC and probably NYS, or they will succeed and become a political, economic and social blueprint for the rest of the country. I don’t know which would be worse. I do know that his brand of extreme socialism has never been successful anywhere, however it is already taking hold in other areas of the country such as Seattle and Portland.
New Yorkers elected this slick, smooth-talking communist charlatan. As the old expression says, “he speaks with a ‘forked tongue.’ ” For example, after years of denigrating the ultrarich, even railing that “billionaires should not exist,” he is now holding fundraisers with them.
Voters were blinded by the prospect of “free stuff” not knowing or refusing to acknowledge that nothing is free. Somehow, some way, someone has to pay for it.
They ignored or refused to acknowledge his political bent. They got gaslighted bigtime. As my parents used to tell me when I misbehaved, “you asked for it and now you’re going to get it.”
We Built It Blog by Larry Jacob 