NYC homeless services budget proposed at $4.2 billion for 2027

The mayor's budget proposal last week set the Department of Homeless Services allocation at $4.2 billion for 2027. The figure is $700 million above the $3.5 billion budgeted for 2026 and $100 million above the $4.1 billion spent in 2024. The 2024 amount covered shelter operations when the system reached a peak of about 69,000 asylum seekers.

Earlier budgets stood at $2.4 billion in 2023 and $2.3 billion in 2022, the first year of the migrant influx that brought more than 230,000 asylum seekers to the city.

Spending context The proposal comes after the migrant influx has declined following federal border policy changes. City spending on street homeless individuals is reported at about $81,000 per person according to a state comptroller review. Council Member Joann Ariola stated that homeless services represent a continuing financial burden and questioned whether the added funds have produced measurable placement results.

Policy shifts The mayor reversed an earlier campaign pledge against street encampment sweeps within weeks of taking office in January. A second reversal occurred after more than a dozen deaths from exposure during winter weather, when the administration began requiring some individuals to enter shelters.