As Cold Weather Arrives, NYC Has Yet To Open 4 More Homeless Drop-In Centers
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- With temperatures dropping, the city said it is taking steps to help the homeless, but CBS2's political reporter Marcia Kramer looked into the promises the city made last year and found there's a lot of work to be done.
Near-freezing temperatures had the homeless flocking to the Mainchance drop-in center on East 32nd Street.
They came in off the streets for a hot meal and a break from the bone chilling winds that sent them into winter-mode Friday, dressing in multiple layers, huddling under mounds of worn blankets or seeking refuge on the bench of a bus shelter.
For many, the city's four drop-in centers are the key to their plans for winter survival.
"It means I don't have to ask nobody for something to eat, I don't have to ask for help," Joseph Griffin, how is homeless, told Kramer.
"I'm homeless, and you can't ask for nothing better," Rodney Johnson said.
"Comfort, food and you know hope," one woman said.
The Mainchance center, with its welcoming Christmas decorations, was clearly a beacon of hope, but it was also a symbol of broken promises -- one made nearly a year ago by Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration to open new drop-in centers, seen as a vital first step to ending street homelessness.
Last January, in response to a series of stories by CBS2, the city promised to spend $8.5 million to open three new centers and assume the funding for a fourth center run by the federal government in the Bronx.
Officials conceded Friday that none of that has been done.
"What does that mean for the homeless population?" Kramer asked Robert Mascali, the director of homeless operations for mayors Bloomberg and Giuliani.
"It means less availability, you know of getting off the street, coming in here, taking a shower, getting food, getting clothing and getting social workers to help them. These drop-in centers are an oasis for the street homeless," Mascali said.
He said he's upset the city reneged on its promise.
"People that are reluctant to go to shelters will go to drop-in centers because they are safe, they're well lit and they get a lot of services," he said.
Experts said the drop-in centers are key to getting the homeless off the streets. They described them as weigh stations that connect people who are reluctant and distrustful with trained outreach workers.
