CNW11212019 - Page 12

Editorial Finally some relief for homeless on streets At long last, the de Blasio administration is taking greater action to help the city’s most ignored demographic: the unsheltered homeless. Every day and night, thousands of New Yorkers live on the streets or in the subways, in obvious need of more than just a bite of food or a couple of bucks. Many of them have various issues in their lives, including mental health or drug abuse. While a troubling number of people tend to denigrate them, the truth is unsheltered homeless individuals are people in need. They could easily be any of us or our relatives, but for the grace of something more powerful than us all. Because they’re people, and they are in need, it’s on us to make sure that we provide it to them. Homelessness has skyrocketed on the city streets in the last few years, predating de Blasio’s arrival at Gracie Mansion — a combination of many factors including skyrocketing housing prices and cutbacks in mental health services. Yet the administration seemed to dither over the years in meeting the challenge. The new program de Blasio announced Thursday, dubbed Outreach NYC, mobilizes an army of 18,000 city employees — including 15,000 members of the FDNY — to spot unsheltered homeless persons and report them to a joint command center for further assistance. The center will then dispatch relief workers to offer assistance to unsheltered individuals — including temporary housing, medical and mental health care, and drug counseling. We should emphasize the word “offer”; by law, the city cannot force any unsheltered person to accept the help offered, nor can they take anyone who refuses off the streets unless they are a visible threat to themselves or others. The de Blasio Administration was quick to note, however, that previous efforts by the Department of Social Services have helped transition more than 2,500 New Yorkers out of a life of street homelessness. If the Outreach NYC program helps move just one person off the streets and into a normal, independent life, it will have been successful. We’re hopeful and optimistic that, in the months to come, it will help thousands in need who’ve ignored for far too long. We applaud de Blasio for fi nally stepping up and expanding the city’s effort to combat street homelessness — but we wish he had done it sooner. Publisher of The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now, Downtown Express and Manhattan Express PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER CEO & CO-PUBLISHER EDITOR IN CHIEF REPORTERS CONTRIBUTORS ART DIRECTORS ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES PUBLISHER’S LIABILITY FOR ERROR The Publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher’s liability for others errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue. Published by Schneps Media One Metrotech North, 3rd floor Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (718) 260-2500 Fax: (212) 229-2790 On-line: www.thevillager.com E-mail: news@thevillager.com © 2019 Schneps Media VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA SCHNEPS ROBERT POZARYCKI GABE HERMAN ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL MARK HALLUM MICHELE HERMAN BOB KRASNER TEQUILA MINSKY MARY REINHOLZ PAUL SCHINDLER MARCOS RAMOS CLIFFORD LUSTER (718) 260-2504 CLUSTER@CNGLOCAL.COM GAYLE GREENBURG JIM STEELE JULIO TUMBACO ELIZABETH POLLY New York Press Association Member of the National Newspaper Association Member of the Member of the Minority Women Business Enterprise VILLAGER PHOTO BY KAREN ABRAMS Manhattan Snaps: Protesting sleaze on Sixth Ave. in 1989 A story on the front page of The Villager on Oct. 12, 1989, described about 80 people protesting outside Crazy Fantasy Video at 331 Sixth Ave., between West 3rd and West 4th Streets. The shop had opened two weeks earlier, and protesters were upset over the pornographic materials being sold, chanting “Get out now!” �� 12 November 21, 2019 Schneps Media /www.thevillager.com link link /www.thevillager.com link link