Mayor de Blasio to Spend More on Fighting Homelessness

Mayor de Blasio announced Monday the city will spend $12.3 million more on two programs that provide legal counsel to families facing eviction.

The largest group of people in the city's shelter system are families with children, and a city investigation found nearly a third of families in shelters were recently evicted.

The administration says it has consolidated its civil legal services programs into two programs under the Human Resources Administration. The Anti-Eviction Legal Services unit will receive $25.8 million dollars this fiscal year and the Anti-Harassment Tenant Protection unit will get $20.5 million.

The Anti-Eviction program will focus on rapidly gentrifying areas, including Bedford Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Crown Heights in Brooklyn; Jamaica and South Jamaica in Queens, Tremont and Williamsbridge in the Bronx; Central and West Harlem in Manhattan; and Staten Island's Port Richmond and Mariner’s Harbor neighborhoods.

The city said spending on anti-homelessness programs will grow to $61.8 million in FY 2017.