Eric Adams delivered his State of the City address this afternoon at the historic Apollo theater in the heart of Harlem, playing up his administration’s wins over the past year and promising more going forward. The embattled New York City mayor, who is indicted on federal corruption charges, had used previous appearances this week to focus on public safety, with an announcement on Monday of 200 additional officers being deployed on the subway system, a message that he continued in his weekly press conference a day later. While that was still part of his message today, it would be reductive to point to any particular policy proposal as the salient takeaway from the event, as the overall form of the proceedings said more than the content.
In the Apollo today, Adams seized the opportunity of this customary yearly address for what looked like a soft launch to his mayoral campaign, gilding his speech with an uncharacteristically elaborate production, including two video montages about his tenure, as well as performances from a gospel choir and school marching band.
Looking past the show, Adams outlined two major policy proposals. First is an expansion of resources and manpower to tackle homelessness, for which the mayor is committing $650 million to a series of programs. One of these is a form of transitional housing he called “safe haven beds,” which offers a bed and personal space, personalized support from city officials, and “more flexibility than a traditional shelter.” According to a picture on the screen beside Adams during the speech, it appears to be a tight space with a twin bed, a lamp and small desk, and little space for much else. Adams credits the program with helping people move out of the subways, and is expanding the program by 900 more beds.
The $650 million will also go to “a new housing facility just for unsheltered New Yorkers with serious mental illness,” although Adams did not specify how many people the facility would take, or how much of the budgeted funds would go towards it. The mayor also announced a program to find housing for expecting parents struggling with homelessness promising to “ensure mothers and babies do not go to a shelter after leaving the hospital.” Adams also called for the passage of the Supportive Interventions Act, to increase involuntary commitments for “those who can no longer care for themselves.”
The impressive amount of commitment is in the face of increased need, as a recent report from the federal government paints a bleak picture, finding that over 158,000 New Yorkers lack adequate shelter, giving the city the highest per capita rate of homelessness, at 81 people per 10,000. These figures also amount to a 53% increase over last year.
Another major policy proposal from the speech is a housing initiative Adams dubbed the “Manhattan Plan,” stating the goal is to “add 100,000 new homes in Manhattan, reach a total of one million homes in the next decade.” Here, however, there is a lack of concrete policy, as the only indication of how he might do this is to “use the new zoning tools we secured from Albany and our City of Yes plan,” without any indication of resource commitment like with the homelessness plan.
Adams did not elaborate how an incentives-and zoning-based program could achieve such ambitious results without direct state action, especially as the amount of housing City of Yes will eventually produce is already debated among experts.
