NEW YORK, NY October 04, 2004 —A year ago this month, Mayor Bloomberg announced a major change in the way the city would do business with the owners of hotels and temporary apartments for the homeless. WNYC’s Andrea Bernstein has this progress report.

In the early 1980’s the city, under a court ruling to house the homeless, began placing them in hotels and temporary apartments. First it was a few hundred a night. It now tops 30,000. But even though the cost grew to hundreds of millions of dollars a year the city paid for the rooms as it always had – by the night. Last October, after a WNYC investigation and an audit by Comptroller William Thompson the Mayor promised things would change.

Mayor Bloomberg: We reached the conclusion that it is time to regularize our relationship with these providers and bring order, transparency, and accountability to a system that has been too long defined by crisis.

The usually results oriented Mayor would give no time tables, and left himself the out, that changes in the city’s procurement rules would have to come first.

A year later, the Department of Homeless services has signed one 5-year, 25 million dollar contract, and two more are in the process of getting city approval, says homeless commissioner Linda Gibbs:

Gibbs: It has been a challenging negotiation it’s a really significant change in the way the city does business with the providers.

Gibbs says the hotel owners have been cooperative, even with the stringent requirements of contracts.

Gibbs : They do need to open their books. They do need to be part of the complete financial audits, they do need to subject themselves to the city’s vendor accountability system.

Figures provided by Gibbs office show that there’s still about $150 million a year in uncontracted business. Gibbs wouldn’t say how long it would take to contract this business but says she’s optimistic it will happen “quickly” now there’s a model. Deputy Comptroller Greg Brooks says the Comptroller is pleased with the progress, even though it represents a fraction of the business.

Brooks: If you look at the whole universe of changes and nothing moves that quickly in the city, this is a real good faith effort

But the Comptroller is now auditing another city agency – the Human Resources Administration. HRA uses to house homeless people with aids, in many cases the same ones as the department of homeless services. A year ago, we asked the Mayor about HRA

Bernstein: Is there also going to be an effort to contract out those services? Bloomberg: You have to talk to HRA, we’ll talk to her,

We did ask hra this question last October. In a statement, they said they would also begin exploring ways of contracting with homeless hotels. But in March of this year, HRA Commissioner Verna Eggleston announced at a city council hearing that her office was drawing up MOU’s, or memoranda of understanding – non binding agreements which do not require hotel owners to negotiate contracts, adhere to citywide vendor standards, or disclose information about their business relationships. Eggleston spoke to reporters after that hearing.

Eggleston: I think the MOU’s are a step in accountability. Understanding with someone this is what we expect you to do, because there are very clear requirements to house someone who has AIDS.

In June, we checked in again with HRA. A spokesman issued this statement:

HRA is working with the Mayor's Office of Contracts and other City agencies to identify procurement options that would create the ability to enter into contracts.

Last week, HRA said it would continue to rely on MOUs, but would have a goal of contracting 40 percent of its emergency housing by 2006. The comptroller’s office audit of HRA is due out later this fall. For WNYC, I’m Andrea Bernstein.