New York to Consolidate Welfare and Homelessness Agencies

Declaring that New York City needed a “new vision” to combat entrenched homelessness, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city’s welfare agency and office of homeless services will reunited under a single leader, reports The New York Times.

New York’s homeless population has more than doubled since then-Mayor David Dinkins split off the Department of Homeless Services from the Human Resources Administration 23 years ago, and has risen from 53,000 to 58,000 since Mr. de Blasio took office in early 2014, prompting a series of City Hall moves to tackle the issue.

The two operations will be run by Steven Banks, commissioner of the Human Resources Administration, who has essentially been leading the homelessness agency since its chief resigned amid a December shake-up. Mr. Banks said the consolidation will eliminate redundancy in the city’s provision of shelters and other programs for the homeless and save an estimated $38 million.