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De Blasio Says Cost Of Living Reason For Many Homeless In NYC

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio said many of the city's homeless simply can't afford the cost of living in New York City.

Speaking Tuesday on WYNC radio's "The Brian Lehrer Show," he said the problem for many is economic.

"Many more people are homeless for economic reasons, they literally cannot afford the cost of housing in this city," he said. "The wages that they have made don't keep up with the cost of living."

De Blasio said part of the issue is the end of housing subsidies that kept many people off the streets.

"Another part of this is mistakes in government policy, particularly in 2011, when the city and state ended the single most effective subsidy program that actually kept the numbers in shelters to about 35,000 folks," de Blasio said. "Still a huge number, but when that subsidy ended, the number of folks in shelters shot up into the 50-55,000 range."

De Blasio Says Cost Of Living Reason For Many Homeless In NYC

He said his administration is working to solve the problems through the creation of affordable housing and offering mental health aid.

"These are human beings who in many cases need our help either for economic reasons or mental health or substance abuse reasons, and we will provide that help," de Blasio said.

Calls to 311 about homeless people in need of aid have risen. There were about 13,000 in the last year of the Bloomberg administration and about 20,000 so far this year.

"There are quality of life problems with some homeless folks and that will be addressed very forcefully. The NYPD and other agencies are doing that. And then there are also a lot of homeless folks who don't do anything wrong or anything illegal," the mayor said. "And Commissioner [Bill] Bratton said this very squarely: In this country, if you're sitting on a park bench and you're not accosting anyone and you're not violating a law, you have a right to be there as an American."

But de Blasio said "homeless encampments'' won't be tolerated and will be dismantled.

Meanwhile, the city's deputy mayor overseeing homelessness and health care is leaving the de Blasio administration at the end of this month.

Lilliam Barrios-Paoli will become volunteer chairwoman of the board of the Health and Hospitals Corporation.

It's the highest-ranking departure of the mayor's 20-month tenure at city hall. Barrios-Paoli has served four city mayors.

"I think it was just a personal decision about time for a change in her life and we support her decision obviously and look forward to her continued role as chair of the Health and Hospitals Corporation."

Last week, de Blasio's office denied she was resigning.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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