Investigation finds NYC Homeless Shelters in dangerous Conditions

New York City-run homeless shelters are part of a system that costs Department of Homeless Services (DHS) of the city about $360 million every year. According to a city Department of Investigation report, sometimes the agency pays well above neighborhood market rates for those apartments.

The Department of Investigation found that the largely privately-run shelters that house more than 10,000 homeless families are in dangerous conditions. The report stated that DHS didn't work to improve the current condition of shelters. At its worst, the agency has turned blind eye to violations that threaten the lives of people that are living in those shelters, as per the report. The report has also called for stiffer inspections and repairs.

On the other side, the homeless services agency said that it axed some of the apartments from the system and asked for funds to appoint 19 new inspection staffers. According to the agency, it has closed some problematic shelters and repaired many of them.

On Thursday, in a statement, Homeless Services Commissioner Gilbert Taylor said, "We will use the report's recommendations to further inform our system-wide reform work". In a different statement, Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark G. Peters said that much work still needs to be done.

New York City is legally obligated to provide shelter to homeless people. In the start of 2010, there was an average of about 39,000 people a night who were seeking for shelter. In November 2014, the numbers of people seeking shelter rose to more than 60,000 people, as per the reports.

In December 2013, The New York Times had profiled a little girl who was living amid mice, rotting walls and communal bathrooms in a Brooklyn shelter. After that, Mayor Bill de Blasio asked for investigation. Last spring and summer, investigators inspected 25 of the over 140 family shelters.