“No young person in New York City should ever be faced with the question of where they're going to be sleeping at night,” Jamie Powlovich, a senior manager for the Coalition for the Homeless told @gothamist.com.
*** The Legal Aid Society and Coalition for the Homeless Statement on City’s Planned Closure of 30th Street Intake Shelter ***
“If we want to live in a city where people don’t die on the streets, let’s live in a city where people don’t have to live on the street,” Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director @giffendave.bsky.social told @crainsnewyork.bsky.social this week.
“As Juan De La Cruz, the Director of Emergency Relief Services at the Coalition for the Homeless, was handing out food on Sunday in Midtown Manhattan, he was startled to hear two homeless men tell him that police officers had taken their sleeping bags and warm winter coats from them while they were sheltering in the subway system.” “New York City’s Homeless Population Endures Another Dangerous Storm” by Wesley Parnell and Dana Rubinstein the NEW YORK TIMES Feb 23rd, 2026
“They shouldn’t be taking any actions that are going to put people at risk or lessen their ability to stay warm or survive the blizzard,” @giffendave.bsky.social, Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director, told @nytimes.com reporters. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/w...
If you see someone who has no place to get out of the cold, please let them know that warming sites across the five boroughs are available. Over 50 NYC hospitals, as well as DHS drop-in centers and shelters, are also operating with a full open-door policy. portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kan...
Regardless of the historic blizzard, the Coalition’s Grand Central Food Program vans were out last night – as they are every night – bringing hot meals, critical supplies, and info about the warming sites to people surviving on the streets of NYC.
Outreach is more effective when people do not fear enforcement. “When city workers show up & throw away all the belongings of somebody who’s surviving out on the streets, that creates a real feeling of distrust,” our Exec. Dir. @giffendave.bsky.social told amNY.
Alexius Marcano from @nyhomeless.bsky.social explains how imposing fees on unhoused populations creates a cycle of debt that makes it even harder to secure stable housing and undermines public safety.
This was just one idea discussed in our recent webinar, ‘Serve & Protect or Curb & Collect?’
*** Coalition for the Homeless and @legalaidnyc.bsky.social on City Revamping Homeless Sweeps *** Read full statement here.
"We must invest in solutions that move us closer to ending the homelessness crisis altogether...@NYCMayor could...immediately [move] 2,000 of the hardest-to-serve unsheltered New Yorkers into empty supportive housing units." 3/3
"These sweeps failed on multiple levels. First, they were glaringly inhumane – many unhoused New Yorkers lost the few possessions they had, and the process undermined their trust in city services...We fully support the mayor’s decision to end encampment sweeps." 2/
Our Exec. Dir. Dave Giffen and @winnyc.bsky.social CEO Chris Quinn, penned an op-ed in @cityandstateny.bsky.social. "Over the last 4 years, former Mayor Adams responded to the homelessness crisis with a series of...sweeps of encampments that failed to move a single NYer into permanent housing." 1/
Mark your calendars for April 24th! This year's Women Mean Business Luncheon is a celebration of courage. Join hundreds of NYC's most passionate leaders as we come together to raise crucial funds for the Coalition's First Step Job Training Program. www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/wmbl-tickets
Our new policy brief focuses on building more affordable housing for those who need it most. We are calling on NYC to build 60,000 new units over the next five years for New York's homeless and extremely low income households.
*** @LegalAidNYC, Coalition for the Homeless Urge City to Bolster Measures to Protect Unhoused New Yorkers From Looming Subzero Temperatures *** read full statement here:
The call for sweeps is an “opportunistic misframing of a terrible tragedy to try to get the administration to try failed approaches of the past,” @nyhomeless.bsky.social Executive Director @giffendave.bsky.social told @davidfbrand.bsky.social for @gothamist.com.
*** Coalition for the Homeless and The Legal Aid Society Applaud Opening of Pearl Street Safe Haven Shelter *** Read full statement here:
"The system does not do a good job of making sure that individuals are getting what they need in order to come in off of the street. We need to see far far more low-barrier shelters like safe havens," @nyhomeless.bsky.social Executive Director @giffendave.bsky.social told @cbsnews.com.
“We need to start with the people who don’t have homes, whether they’re artists, or work in the food service industry, or as home health aides, whatever their occupation. Who is most in need of that resource?” 2/2
“As a guiding principle, when you have a limited resource, you’d start with the people who are most in need," Executive Director for @nyhomeless.bsky.social, @giffendave.bsky.social told @smaldo.bsky.social for @thecity.nyc. 1/
Our donate page is currently under construction. If you would like to donate, please use www.paypal.com/donate/?host...
“If placement into supportive housing isn't an integral part of the approach, the revolving door between hospitals, shelters, jails, and the streets will sadly continue” @giffendave.bsky.social told @gothamist.com.
Our thoughts go out to Louis Gerstner’s family and friends today. Lou's generosity & vision saved 100s of families from homelessness through his support of our Eviction Prevention Program. His deep humanity inspired us all, & leaves an enduring legacy.
@giffendave.bsky.social, Exec. Dir. of @nyhomeless.bsky.social told @nytimes.com, "There’s really only one number that matters: how many people in New York City are homeless at any given time?”
A coordinated approach to NYC’s historic housing and homelessness crisis is long overdue. The Coalition looks forward to working with newly appointed Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning Leila Borzog in the new year to ensure that every New Yorker has a home.
Code Blue is in effect from 4pm today, December 12 until 8am tomorrow, December 13. Learn more about Code Blue here: www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/get-help/kno...
There are only 3 days left to donate to our Holiday Toy Drive 2025! We urgently need 2,000 more toys to guarantee we can fulfill every order. One toy can transform a child's holiday season. Give a toy now: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/...
"With Mayor Adams...the main concern is creating the appearance that homelessness is being reduced by removing people from sight,...without any thought to what's happening [to them]," @nyhomeless.bsky.social Exec. Dir. @giffendave.bsky.social shares with @alibauman.bsky.social for @cbsnews.com.
“The reason that we have a right to shelter in New York City is because [the cold] is dangerous,” @giffendave.bsky.social told @spectrumnewsny1.bsky.social. “It can threaten your life to sleep out exposed to the elements and especially on nights like tonight.”
*** The Coalition for the Homeless commends the New York City Council for standing up for low-income New Yorkers by overriding the Mayor’s veto of Intro 1372. *** Read full statement here: www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/press/coalit...
