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3h ago

Mamdani to End NYPD Encampment Sweeps, Setting Up Clash With Adams and Hochul

The announcement refocuses the debate on the effectiveness of sweeps versus housing-first outreach.

New York City Parks Department Officers and workers, along with NYPD Officers and New York City Homeless Outreach dismantled a long existing homeless encampment situated among the trees and shrubbery in an area bounded by Cadman Plaza West, Middagh Street, Prospect Street and the Brooklyn Bridge Exit Ramp in Brooklyn on Monday October 10, 2022. 1119. (Theodore Parisienne)
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks to the press after attending a hot chocolate distribution event in New York on December 4, 2025. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani says he will halt police-led encampment clearances on taking office Jan. 1 and redirect efforts to connecting people to housing.
  • Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, in a TV interview, called the plan unrealistic and warned of safety and sanitation consequences if sweeps stop.
  • A Daily News editorial backed enforcement, while a separate piece by Safety Net Activists argued sweeps are harmful and cited city data showing $6.4 million spent on more than 4,000 sweeps from January 2024 to June 2025 with zero people housed.
  • Past reviews loom large, including a 2023 audit reporting that about 95% of people removed from encampments returned to the streets and city figures showing thousands of sites cleared under both the Adams and de Blasio administrations.
  • Legal and resource questions persist, with a federal lawsuit challenging sweep procedures and advocates asserting thousands of supportive housing units sit vacant as the governor’s office signals support for enforcement paired with services.