De Blasio plans to add 90 new homeless shelters across NYC

Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to announce a plan on Tuesday to open another 90 homeless shelters throughout New York City, in an effort to get a handle on a growing problem.

Approximately 60,000 people sleep in New York City shelters each night.

The initiative will increase the number of homeless shelters by a third, and will include an “equity plan” mandating certain neighborhoods increase their homelessness shelter capacity.

Neighborhoods such as Brownsville in Brooklyn, the South Bronx and Harlem already have a number of shelters. The mayor’s plan is a revitalization of the city’s 1989 Fair Share initiative that limits new shelters being placed in those overwhelmed neighborhoods.

One area in the South Bronx already has the highest number of units reserved for homeless families, many of which are considered “cluster” housing. Neighborhoods near JFK Airport also have a number of hotel rooms for the homeless, NY1 reported.

The mayor’s other strategies to both reduce and accomodate the homeless population include providing monetary incentives for friends and relatives to house the homeless in their apartments. The city also offers free legal representation to people facing eviction and has affordable housing developments under construction.

“We want to reorient the system to work better for our neighborhoods and better for folks who are homeless,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said on NY1 on Monday.