Close to 15,000 such units have already been built through similar supportive housing programs in the last 20 years, according to WSJ.
Advertisement
The Wall Street Journal reports (http://on.wsj.com/1SXGE8S ) Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to announce the investment Wednesday.
The mayor had asked for 12,000 units – and walked away from the table over the governor’s insistence on splitting operating costs 50/50 instead of having the state foot most of the bill, as had always been the case.
“We are acting decisively. We have a shared responsibility to provide these individuals with access to affordable housing as well as the services that are critical to their health and safety”, said Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke.
NY City and Los Angeles are trying to tackle homelessness in a new way.
“I’d like to know what Governor Christie says about this”, de Blasio said Wednesday at a Midtown news briefing.
For decades, the city and the state approached homelessness in partnership. The program will give subsidies and tax credits to nonprofits and developers to support the building of the new supportive-housing units.
But while de Blasio has frequently been outmaneuvered by an aggressive Cuomo – who, in recent months, positioned the state to take the lead on NY City-centric issues ranging from battling Legionnaires’ Disease to regulating nail salons – this time the mayor struck first and said that the city would shoulder the cost of the entire program.
Over the next 15 years, the city will pay for the creation of 15,000 “supportive housing” units, apartments that will be paired with on-site social services to help domestic abuse victims, veterans, drug addicts and those living on the street.
Advertisement
“I’m truly glad to hear about the mayor’s plans because I see homeless people on the streets-they are getting younger and younger and something needs to be done here”, Mr. Cox said.
