As New York City continues to spend more money to fight homelessness, state officials are struggling to track how funds are being spent.
That's according to a recent New York State Comptroller report, which found that the city spent $368 million on its unsheltered homeless population in FY 2025, more than triple the amount spent in FY 2019. The unsheltered homeless population—individuals who are not using the Department of Homeless Services' shelter system—makes up only a small fraction (3 percent) of the city's total homeless population, according to data from 2024. In FY 2019, there were 3,588 unsheltered people; in FY 2025, there were 4,504, "a 26 percent increase from pre-pandemic levels."
