In the News-New York State
Comptroller DiNapoli Analysis Finds Sharp Decline in Homeless Veterans in New York
New York state made substantial progress in reducing homelessness for veterans between 2010 and 2022 with the number of homeless veterans declining 83% (from 5,857 to 990), the largest percentage decline in the nation, according to an analysis by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The share of homeless adults that are veterans was reduced from 9% in 2010 to 1% in 2022.
“Veterans answered the call to serve our nation and defend our country’s ideals, and we owe them our gratitude and support,” Comptroller DiNapoli said. “With federal support, New York is leading the way in reducing homelessness for our veterans. Continued attention to housing and other issues affecting our veterans is a necessary expression of our appreciation and a recognition of our duty to help these brave men and women.”
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there were 665,257 veterans living in New York in 2021, representing 4.2% of the state’s population.
The most significant reduction in New York occurred between 2011 and 2016 when the number of homeless veterans declined by 78% (from 5,765 to 1,248). According to the Comptroller, the reductions were driven by policy and funding at the federal level that began in 2010 with release of the first Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Federal funding for programs addressing Veterans’ homelessness in 2009 totaled $376 million and has grown steadily since then. By 2022, federal funding had increased 635% to $2.7 billion.
The greatest progress has been made in New York City. From 2011 to 2022, the total number of homeless veterans in the city was reduced by 90%, from 4,677 to 482 individuals. In 2011, New York City accounted for 81% of all homeless veterans in the state. By 2022, New York City’s share of homeless veterans was reduced to 49%. New York City’s reductions in veteran homelessness accounts for 96% of the total statewide reduction between 2011 and 2022.
The success of the federally funded programs coordinated by the Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs led the federal government to declare in 2015 that the city had effectively ended chronic homelessness (lasting longer than a year or repeated intermittent homelessness over a longer period) among veterans.
Comptroller DiNapoli’s analysis also found:
- Black veterans persistently represent a disproportionate share of those experiencing homelessness. In 2022, Black or African Americans accounted for 53% of homeless veterans in the state, but only 11.1% of the overall veteran population.
- In New York, the largest shares of veterans are white males, and aged 65 or older who served during the Vietnam era.
- New York City is home to the largest population of veterans in the state (144,558), followed by Suffolk County (56,257). As a percentage of a county’s population, the highest share is in Jefferson County, with 13%.
In the News-New York City
2023 General Election Results
On Tuesday, New Yorkers had the opportunity to cast ballots in numerous county and city races.
In New York City, unofficial election night results suggest the City Council will welcome four new members: Yusef Salaam, Kristy Marmorato, Susan Zhuang, and Chris Banks. Salaam won an uncontested general election and will represent the 9th District (Harlem), replacing Kristin Richardson Jordan who dropped out of the race ahead of the June primary. Marmorato is poised to represent the 13th District in the Bronx (Pelham Parkway, Orchard Beach, Country Club, Throggs Neck), with a 708-vote lead over incumbent Marjorie Velázquez, equivalent to 5.7% of ballots cast. Banks won an uncontested general election and will represent the 42nd District in Brooklyn (East New York, Starrett City), after defeating incumbent Charles Barron in the June primary. Susan Zhuang leads Ying Tan in the race for the 43rd District in Brooklyn (Bensonhurst, New Utrecht, and parts of Sunset Park). This an open seat, drawn as an Asian-majority district out of parts of the old 38th, 43rd, 44th, and 47th Districts.
In Brooklyn’s 47th District, Justin Brannan defeated Ari Kagan by 3,232 votes, or nearly 17% of votes cast. After the City’s Districting Commission created new district lines, the two incumbents were drawn into the same district that now stretches from Bay Ridge to Coney Island. This also resulted in Kagan changing parties from a Democrat to a Republican.
The gender demographics of the Council remain the same, maintaining the woman-majority achieved following the 2021 elections. Zhuang will add a Chinese-American voice to the council which is currently the most diverse in the body’s history.
In Queens, District Attorney Melinda Katz secured another term in office with a 57,909-vote lead over her Republican/Conservative opponent Michael Mossa.
In the Yonkers mayoral race, Mike Spano won reelection with a 6,597 vote, 25-percentage-point lead over his Republican opponent. In Suffolk County, Ed Romaine defeated David Calone by 39,400 votes, 14%, in the race for County Executive. This marks the first Suffolk County Executive election since 2003 when a Republican obtained more votes than a Democrat, and the first time the role has been filled by a Republican since the start of 2012 (Steve Levy won in 2003 on the Democratic line, then won re-election in 2007 on both Democrat and Republican lines and changed parties in 2010).
Overall turnout was low, with less than 19% of the state’s registered voters casting a ballot. Turnout was higher where county-wide races were contested, such as in Queens where 11.2% of registered voters cast a ballot for district attorney, compared to The Bronx and in Staten Island, where only 6% of registered voters cast a ballot in each borough’s uncontested district attorney race. In Suffolk County, over 25% of registered voters cast a ballot for county executive.
Results are not final as local boards of elections are still accepting mailed absentee ballots that are postmarked on or before November 7th.
Mayor Adams Launches Task Force to Combat Retail Theft
New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week launched a task force to support implementation of his plan to combat retail theft across New York City.
Led by Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III, the task force brings together elected officials, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and all five district attorneys in New York City, with additional representatives from law enforcement, as well as local business groups, national retailers, and organized labor. The Adams administration will be represented by the Office of Public Safety, the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), and the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS).
“New York City’s retailers are the heart and soul of our city, and retail theft hurts everyone, from our mom-and-pop shops to large department stores — and especially consumers,” said Mayor Adams. “Because of the collaborative actions taken in the last few months between government, the private sector, law enforcement, and, most importantly, local businesses, retail theft is down this year, but there is always more work to do…”
According to the Mayor, with the exception of 2020, the total number of citywide shoplifting complaints increased year over year between 2018 and 2022, with the largest increase — 44 percent — taking place from 2021 to 2022. However, year-to-date in 2023, shoplifting complaints are down 7.9 percent citywide as compared to 2022. Arrests for shoplifting increased 16.4 percent year-to-date in 2023 as compared to 2022 due to the NYPD’s enhanced enforcement efforts.
The task force will advise the Adams administration on legislative proposals and programming aimed at addressing retail theft, enhancing intelligence sharing between stakeholders and responding to emerging shoplifting trends and crime patterns, and ensuring best practices are implemented throughout the city. Among the Administration’s programs are:
- Retail Theft Diversion: Second Chance, a pre-arraignment diversion program, will give non-violent first-time offenders a chance to avoid criminal prosecution.
- RESTORE (Re-Engaging Store Theft Offenders & Retail Establishments) Program: An alternative to incarceration program, RESTORE will give offenders including individuals charged with Grand Larceny in the 3rd Degree and those with no criminal or significant warrant history in the past 3 years—a chance to remain in their community and engage in programming in lieu of a jail or prison sentence.
- Employee Support Program: Employee training programs will be implementated that focus on de-escalation tactics, anti-theft tools, and security best practices.
- Precision Repeat Offender Program (PROP): The Administration will focus law enforcement efforts on the same individuals stealing repeatedly from the same establishments. The program will invite retail stores to report theft and trespass using a Security Incident Report similar to NYPD’s Domestic Incident Report.
- Neighborhood Retail Watch: This program will form a real-time intelligence gathering and information sharing network comprised of several neighboring retail stores that are in visual proximity to each other.
- INFORM Act 29: The Administration will seek new regulations to address concerns about individuals who commit retail theft and then sell the stolen goods online.
New York City Fails to Comply with “Fair Share” Requirements for City Services and Facilities
While New York City has a Charter mandate to locate City services and facilities equitably, a new audit and report from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander found that the City unevenly distributes City facilities and fails to produce mandated analyses of neighborhood impact.
Adopted in the 1989 City Charter Revision, “Fair Share” provisions require the City to make a concerted effort to ensure that communities are both getting their fair share of amenities like parks and libraries and doing their fair share to confront citywide problems like homelessness.
The audit found that New York City does not have a framework in place for ensuring compliance with the Fair Share Criteria. The current process does not require that all sitings of City facilities are independently reviewed by a third party (such as the City Planning Commission [CPC]) for compliance with the Criteria. In the absence of such review, the Criteria is not applied consistently, the Comptroller asserted.
Seventy-four percent of the sitings provided to the auditors for the audit period (Fiscal Years 2018 through 2022) fell into a category that was not reviewed by a third party before decisions to site facilities were made, and approximately 40% of these resulted in sitings within community districts with an already high ratio of residential facility beds-to-population (BTP ratio). Siting facilities in communities with high BTP ratios requires additional considerations. However, the auditors found that these considerations were sometimes ignored. Additionally, all sitings during the audit period were based upon a Citywide BTP ratio calculation from 2015, which has not been updated since.
The audit also found that the Criteria have not been reviewed since 1995, and that the Citywide Statement of Needs (SON) did not contain information about all sitings.
The audit identified areas for improvement in the City’s oversight of the Fair Share process, including the need for greater transparency. The Mayor’s Office noted several changes that have already been made in response to the audit, including the issuance of new guidance to agencies and the implementation of a new system for tracking Article 9 statements. The Department of City Planning (DCP) agreed to update the bed-to-population ratio calculation used to site facilities based on current Census Data and agreed in principle with the need to review and update current processes and guidance documents.
The Comptroller’s Office review consisted of both an audit of Fair Share statements over the past 5 years, and a geospatial analysis of a wide range of City facilities.
Briefs
Governor Hochul Announces $5 Million to Expand Loan Repayment Program for Mental Health Workers
Governor Kathy Hochul this week announced a $5 million expansion of the Community Mental Health Loan Repayment Program to extend eligibility to licensed mental health professionals. Administered by the state Office of Mental Health, the program now has $14 million dedicated to recruiting and retaining skilled mental health professionals.
The Community Mental Health Loan Repayment Program provides up to $120,000 for psychiatrists and $30,000 for other mental health professionals to repay qualified education loans and student debt, provided they remain employed by licensed community mental health programs for three years. The expanded program extends eligibility to include other licensed mental health professionals, including master and clinical social workers; mental health counselors; marriage and family therapists; creative arts therapists, psychoanalysts, and psychologists.
State AG & Markets Issues Two Funding Opportunities for Animal Shelter Capital Costs
The Companion Animal Capital Fund program, administered by the State’s Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM), launched two requests for proposals this week for matching grants to shelters and humane societies to offset the costs associated with capital projects. Applications are due by 4:00 pm on January 29, 2024.
RFP 0311 – Over $3.5 million is available for municipal and incorporated not-for-profit pounds, shelters, humane societies, and rescue facilities. Eligible entities must be a pound or shelter for dogs established and maintained under New York Agriculture and Markets Law.
RFP 0312 – Over $1.1 million is available for duly incorporated pounds, shelters, humane societies, or rescue facilities that are not operated by or under contract with a municipality but that are registered with AGM. Entities must demonstrate that they provide similar pound or shelter services in underserved municipalities or regions where there is insufficient shelter capacity for dogs and/or cats.
City’s In-Office Rate Holds Steady
New York City in-office rate averaged 48.9% for the seven-day period ending November 1st, consistent with the rates during September and October, according to the latest data from real estate technology firm Kastle Systems, which tracks badge swipes at commercial office buildings in major U.S. cities.
The busiest day of the period was 61.1% of prepandemic levels, compared to 25.8% on the week’s least busy day.
The return to office rates for other major cities during the same period were: Austin (58.3%), Chicago (52%), Dallas (53%), Philadelphia (42.5%) San Francisco (41.9%), San Jose (42.5%) and Washington D.C. (47%).
US Senators Schumer and Gillibrand Announce $1.6 Billion for Penn Station Access Project
U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced a $1.6 billion deal for the Metro-North’s Penn Access project, bringing four new Metro-North stations to the Bronx with a goal of reducing commute time to Penn Station and stimulating the local economy.
The funding will go toward rehabilitating 19 miles of the Amtrak’s Hell Gate Line, as well as the construction of the four new stations in Co-op City, Morris Park, Parkchester/Van Nest and Hunts Point. The Senators also announced a separate $58 million award to replace the existing 115-year-old Pelham Bay Bridge track.
The project will expand Amtrak’s Hell Gate Line from two to four tracks in the East Bronx and Westchester. The line will then connect with the New Haven line in New Rochelle to the new Bronx Metro-North stations and continue to Penn Station.
Travel times that currently take an hour or longer will now be cut down by up to 50 minutes, according to officials.
NYPD Reports 135% spike in NYC hate crimes in October amid
Israel-Hamas Conflict
New York City saw a 135% increase in hate crimes in October compared to September, with significant increases in bias incidents against Jews and Muslims, the NYPD reported this week.
The NYPD recorded 101 hate crime incidents in October, up from 43 in September and 45 in October 2022. The significant majority of those, 69 incidents, were against Jews, with antisemitic hate crimes up 331% over September and 214% over October of last year. The city also saw eight Islamophobic hate crimes in October.
The increase in hate crimes comes in the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7th terrorist attack on southern Israel and Israel’s military response in Gaza.
Overall, hate crime investigations are down about 9% this year, according to the NYPD.
Governor Hochul Appoints Dr. Ruth Westheimer as New York State’s Honorary Ambassador to Loneliness
Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she has appointed Dr. Ruth Westheimer as the nation’s first Ambassador to Loneliness.
In accepting the honorary title, Dr. Ruth pledged to help New Yorkers of all ages address the growing issue of social isolation, which is associated with multiple physical and mental health issues, including cognitive decline, anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disorders, weakened immunity, Alzheimer’s disease, and premature death.
A survivor orphaned by the Holocaust, Westheimer rose to prominence as a sex therapist and syndicated talk show host on both radio and television during the 1980s and 1990s. Last year, the 95-year-old resident of the Bronx suggested the idea of becoming an ‘ambassador’ for the state to provide fellow New Yorkers.
Coming Up
New York State
Tuesday, November 14th
Administration Committee Meeting
New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government
25 Beaver Stret, 5th Floor, New York, 540 Broadway, 1st Floor Conference Room, Albany, 11 a.m.
Wednesday, November 15th
Bimonthly Lobbying Reports Due
New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government & Office of the City Clerk, The City of New York
New York City
Tuesday, November 14th
Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10 a.m.
Oversight – Arts and Cultural Organizations’ Outreach into New York City Communities.
Wednesday, November 15th
Committee on General Welfare, Council Chambers – City Hall – VOTE, 9:30 a.m.
Committee on Finance, Committee Room – City Hall – VOTE, 10 a.m.
Committee on Governmental Operations, Council Chambers – City Hall – VOTE, 11 a.m.
City Council, Council Chambers – City Hall, 1:30 p.m.
Friday, November 17th
Committees on Aging, Health, & Hospitals, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10 a.m.
Oversight – Older Adults Living with HIV.
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