Shelter Repair Scorecard Shows Building Violations in Non-Cluster Homeless Shelters Down 72 Percent Since January 2016

July 18, 2016

June Scorecard shows 10 percent decline in open violations at non-cluster shelters over the last month

NEW YORK–– The de Blasio administration today announced that the Shelter Repair Squad and shelter providers have cut outstanding building code violations at non-cluster shelters by an additional 10 percent over the last month, as reported in the June Shelter Repair Scorecard. Since the end of January 2016, open violations in non-cluster shelters are down 72 percent.

“Every violation we are able to repair is a step forward in providing a safe, clean environment for homeless New Yorkers to recover and return to housing,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We are committed to long-term solutions to homelessness in New York City. We’re going to continue our inspections, keep up repairs and continue the move away from cluster sites, all while working to get more New Yorkers access to stable, affordable housing.”

• Total violations at non-cluster shelters were 2,944 at the end of June, compared to 3,280 at the end of May, a decline of 10 percent over the past month.
• Total violations at non-cluster shelters have declined by 72 percent since the end of January 2016, down from a total of 10,474.
• Including new violations found and cleared, a total of 11,455 violations in non-cluster shelters have been cleared so far this year.
• City agencies completed 7,777 inspections in 2016 YTD, compared to 8,665 in all of 2015. In June alone, there were 1,448 inspections completed.
• Cluster shelters continue to have the most issues with a total of 13,496 violations at the end of June, compared to 14,604 at the end of January. The number of open violations among cluster shelters increased in June compared to May, reflecting the increased inspection and enforcement efforts there as part of the previously announced cluster phase out plan. The City continues to work on identifying cluster sites for closure.

“By working aggressively with our partner agencies, we have been able to make significant advances in our goal to improve conditions in City shelters,” said Department of Social Services Commissioner Steven Banks. “We are aware of the challenges ahead, especially as we continue our efforts and uncover additional violations in non-cluster and cluster shelters but our focus remains the same and that is to provide a safe and decent place to live to every homeless New Yorker.”

“The newest update of the monthly Shelter Repair Scorecard demonstrates the sustained success of collaboration between the City and non-profit shelter providers to improve shelter conditions for homeless New Yorkers. We will continue to transparently track repair efforts in order to ensure that homeless shelters are safer and healthier,” said Mayor's Office of Operations Director Mindy Tarlow.

“The Shelter Repair Squad continues to make significant and important progress in the making sure homeless shelters are up to code,” said Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Vicki Been. “Every New Yorker has the right to be safely under a roof in a well-maintained building, and we will not stop until the job is done.”

"I applaud the efforts of Mayor de Blasio to ensure that our City's shelter system is in the best condition possible, while we work towards permanent housing for New York's homeless population," said Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Social Services.

The Shelter Repair Scorecard lists conditions at all homeless shelters in New York City that do not meet applicable regulations and makes it possible to track progress in resolving them. An analysis of the remaining open non-cluster violations indicates that more than 80 percent will require significant repairs or capital work, which will take substantially longer to complete.

Cluster shelters are groups of individual apartments in larger buildings, and the violation total includes all the violations in each building, not those solely relating to the cluster units. The administration has announced a plan to phase out the use of cluster shelters – where the majority of the violations are found. As the City ends the use of cluster shelters, returning them to the market so that the apartments can serve as low-rent housing, it will insist that building owners bring their buildings up to code and will work to ensure that they remain part of the City’s rent-regulated stock or enter an affordability program.

The scorecard can be accessed here.