Groups: NYC 'unfriendly' to homeless

Two national homeless advocacy groups have named New York City among 224 cities nationwide that are "meanest" to the homeless.

The report, "A Dream Denied" released today by the Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, calculated specific city measures in 2005 that targeted homeless people, such as placing restrictions on loitering, panhandling, and sleeping in public places, or an increase in sweeps of the homeless by law enforcement officials.

New York City made the top 20 at 14

The number one city in the U.S. was Sarasota, Fla., for a controversial ordinance that outlaws sleeping outside at night -- used in the last two years to arrest more than 500 people -- even though it was declared unconstitutional.

Also on the list were Lawrence, Ks., Houston, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh.

"Cities are increasingly criminalizing homelessness," said Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. "Many cities continue to pass so-called anti-homeless laws and selectively enforce these laws against he homeless."

New York City officials denied that the cities are unfriendly to the homeless population.

"Regardless of how this 'report' ranks New York, our city is the most generous jurisdiction in the country when it comes to addressing the needs of at-risk and homeless citizens," said Angela Allen, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeless Services. "New Yorkers should take a lot of pride in that fact."

She cited initiatives such as homeless prevention measures and a billion-dollar plan to create 9,000 supportive housing units for chronically homeless families and individuals.

In New York City, there are approximately 31,000 individuals who are homeless, according to the city's Department of Homeless Services. About 8,000 are single adults.

Source: NY Newsday