(NewsNation) — Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani says that when he is sworn in this January, he will end all homeless encampment sweeps across New York City, shutting down a key policy of Mayor Eric Adams.
The Adams administration made these sweeps a central priority, clearing tent cities from sidewalks, parks and transit areas. But a city audit in 2023 found nearly 95% of those swept never accepted temporary shelter, with many returning to the street shortly after.
“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,” Mamdani said during a news conference on Wednesday.
Mamdani says his administration will shift the city’s approach toward supportive and long-term housing, calling homelessness a “political choice,” not something New Yorkers should simply accept.
Mamdani has not outlined how he’ll handle the more than 45,000 encampment complaints the city received this year, but says the era of sweeps will end the moment he takes office. The move to end encampment sweeps comes as Mamdani steps into a growing power struggle with Adams, a clash that has intensified in the final weeks of this administration.
In recent days, Mayor Adams has signed a series of last-minute executive orders, including one that prevents the city from divesting from Israeli interests and another that tightens regulations on protests outside houses of worship.
“And the mayor is not about abandoning your obligation or responsibility just because there’s someone incoming. I have a job to finish,” Adams said.
Adams has also moved to fund 5,000 additional police officers, a decision that could force the incoming administration to reverse course if they don’t want to maintain that level of staffing.
“The mayor is free to issue as many executive orders as he’d like with the less than 30 days that he has in office,” Mamdani said. “And then we will be taking a look at every single one once we actually enter into City Hall.”