Mamdani Reverses Course On Homeless Policy After Multiple Deaths

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is reversing course.

After pausing homeless encampment sweeps shortly after taking office, the self-described Democratic socialist announced Wednesday that his administration will resume clearing makeshift camps across the city — a move that comes amid public backlash, rising complaints, and a deadly winter cold snap.

Mamdani halted the sweeps on Jan. 5, just days into his term, arguing that the prior administration’s approach needed to be reworked.

“I made a decision with my team to put a pause on that prior administration’s policy as we started to develop our own policy that would deliver far better outcomes for the city,” Mamdani told reporters last week.

Under that pause, the city stopped dismantling street encampments that had become fixtures in certain neighborhoods.

But as temperatures plunged and reports surfaced that at least 19 homeless individuals died outdoors during the recent cold snap — with some outlets reporting as many as 20 — critics questioned whether the hands-off approach had placed vulnerable individuals at greater risk.

In response to the extreme weather, Mamdani issued a Code Blue, requiring city shelters to accept anyone seeking refuge from the cold.

“We knew that that is a policy that we would only deliver on once the prolonged Code Blue came to an end, because, as we know, in a Code Blue, the focus should be on getting homeless New Yorkers inside, not on the question of how we respond to structures,” Mamdani added.

Now, with the cold emergency easing, City Hall says it has finalized a new strategy. Under the revised plan, the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) will take the lead role in encampment removals — replacing the New York Police Department’s previous involvement.

The policy includes advance notice to encampment residents and a seven-day outreach period before any clearance occurs. City workers will conduct daily engagement efforts aimed at persuading individuals to accept shelter and services before sanitation crews move in.

During his campaign for mayor, Mamdani was openly critical of encampment sweeps.

“If you are not connecting homeless New Yorkers to the housing that they so desperately need, then you cannot deem anything you’re doing to be a success,” he stated while campaigning to run the Big Apple, per AMNY.

Supporters of the renewed sweeps argue that public safety, sanitation, and humane conditions demand decisive action — especially during extreme weather events. Some city council members have backed the move as a necessary reset after what they describe as policy confusion.

At the same time, advocacy groups warn that enforcement efforts can erode trust between outreach workers and the unhoused, making long-term solutions harder to achieve.

The political pressure is mounting. According to the New York Post, the city has received more than 3,300 complaints about homeless encampments since the start of the year. In response, Mamdani’s administration is allocating funds in the new budget to hire 60 additional personnel tasked with helping move individuals off the streets and into services.

“When Mayor Mamdani took office, he paused the failed encampment sweep policies of the past, making clear that the city would no longer rely on approaches that simply moved people from block to block without real support,” City Hall representative Matt Rauschenbach said.

“The goal is to maximize placements into shelter and connect unhoused New Yorkers to the services they need so that when DSNY clears an encampment on day seven, meaningful progress has already been made,” he added.

The reversal underscores a broader tension facing progressive-led cities nationwide: how to balance compassion with order, and outreach with enforcement.

Under President Donald J. Trump’s second term, federal leaders have repeatedly emphasized public safety, local accountability, and law-and-order principles as essential to restoring confidence in America’s cities. In contrast, municipalities that experiment with sweeping policy shifts often find themselves pulled back toward more traditional enforcement when conditions deteriorate.

For New Yorkers frustrated by rising complaints, visible encampments, and winter tragedies, the question remains whether Mamdani’s revised approach represents meaningful reform — or simply a return to policies he once condemned.

The debate over homelessness in America’s largest city is far from settled.