Exclusive | Land of the freeloader: Number of NYC homeless shelters surged by 50% in four years

The number of homeless shelters across NYC exploded nearly 50% in the last four years from 333 to 499, as Gotham’s vagrant population doubled and its shelter industrial complex bled $4 billion in taxpayer money in a single year.Shelters set aside for single adults – which critics say are the most problematic facilities because they are more likely than family shelters to bring violent criminals to neighborhoods – surged 35%, from 155 to 209, a Post review of Department of Homeless Services data found.What’s worse is there is no end to the perpetually growing problem, according to critics, who blame the administration of socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other lefty pols for pushing policies that lead to more homelessness.“These numbers are the unfortunate side effect of politicians and their followers putting ideology over reality,” said Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens).“Things like rent control might sound great on paper, but in reality, they mean less residential development, and fewer units on the market as landlords don’t have the funds needed to renovate when a tenant moves out.“All of this means the housing shortage gets even worse, and the men and women in our shelter systems are the sad result of these policy failures.”The DHS recently reported 83,407 residents in its shelter system – including 26,266 single adults and the rest families with children and adults.That’s double the number of homeless residents who were sleeping in city shelters daily on average during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022 – 42,563, which included 16,465 single men and women, records show.The number of shelters soared from 333 in fiscal 2022 to 496 by fiscal 2024 as the city’s daily homeless population surged to an average of 86,321, including 20,468 single adults.

At the time, the city was still dealing with a migrant crisis so overwhelming that the number of vagrants on some days reached above 130,000.The brunt of the crisis is largely behi...