It’s hard to argue with the numbers – current strategies for dealing with homelessness are not working. The current tactic of trying to outlaw homelessness resembles the almost cartoon-like strategy of trying to clean your room by cramming all of the clutter in one closet. Of course, this strategy can only work for so long before the closet begins to overflow and eventually burst, which is the same problem New York and other cities are facing. New York has more homeless now than it ever has, and it’s rapidly becoming less practical to try and simply remove them. What’s troubling is that a very clear and simple solution has been staring New Yorkers in the face for quite some time – a massive quantity of vacant rooms. Currently, there are no laws or rules which encourage or incentivize  private landowners to offer their empty rooms to people in desperate need of shelter.
Why is this? It would likely be very easy to use the money currently being spent to relocate and remove the homeless on something like a tax break being offered to property owners who offer genuine help to the homeless.