NEW YORK CITY — The city is rolling out a new task force to help implement Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to build 15,000 units of supportive housing for homeless New Yorkers over the next 15 years.
Made up of non-profit and faith leaders along with experts in issues including housing and mental health, the group will serve as a panel of advisors to the city on the needs of the homeless.
“I see the task force as everything from a conscience and a group of folks who will help us think how to do things best and a sort of center of innovation, to people who can help us figure out how to do this faster and better,” de Blasio said Tuesday.
The mayor joined task force members, Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens, and local residents at a recently renovated supportive housing building in Bedford-Stuyvesant for the announcement.
Of the 15,000 units the city has committed to providing, 250 apartments are expected to be completed by the end of this year, officials said.
The new supportive housing residences are meant to provide permanent, affordable homes along with social services and counseling on individualized levels for New Yorkers — many of whom face challenges with mental illness or substance abuse, de Blasio said.
“That’s the whole concept: helping people find the fullness of their potential,” the mayor added. “Richest city in the country, we can do this, we must do this, we will do this.”
The task force is the latest announcement in a series of major city initiatives aimed at tackling homelessness, including HOME-STAT, the doubling of the city’s drop-in centers, and the addition of new beds for homeless youth.
“Supportive housing is a crucial part of the equation because it is one of the actual permanent elements of the solution,” de Blasio said.
The new task force will be headed by three co-chairs: New York City Human Resources Administration Commissioner Steven Banks, Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Vicki Been and Laura Mascuch, executive director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York.
Dozens of other members and partners include Providence House, Good Shepherd Services and Comunilife.
New buildings expected to be completed by June are already in the pipeline, along with financial commitments, according to Been.
“We really are trying to shape new models. We’re trying to harness funding that’s never been available for supportive housing, using funding better so we can build more supportive housing over time,” she said.
“We’re really, I think, pushing the envelope and that’s one of the reasons why this brain trust is just so, so critical.”
The mayor’s announcement comes a day before Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to address homelessness and detail stricter scrutiny of new supportive housing units and shelters in his State of the State speech, according to reports.
De Blasio will meet with Cuomo before that speech on Wednesday, the mayor said.
The city needs the state’s support and welcomes its resources, he said, but added that the city’s commitment is on a “bigger scale than ever before” and will move forward “under any circumstance.”
“15,000 apartments is going to go a long way. We’d like it to go farther," the mayor said.
“So we look forward to the announcement tomorrow and hope obviously that will address the need for an ongoing state role as a partner in this work."
