Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday that his administration will resume clearing homeless encampments across New York City, reversing a decision he made shortly after taking office to pause the practice. The move marks a significant policy shift for the first-term mayor, who had initially sought to distance his administration from the previous approach to homelessness. Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist, halted encampment sweeps on Jan. 5, just days into his tenure, saying his team needed time to develop a more humane and effective strategy. Under that directive, city agencies stopped dismantling makeshift camps that had become home to many residents experiencing homelessness. At the time, Mamdani framed the pause as a necessary reset, arguing that previous policies had failed to produce long-term housing stability and instead cycled vulnerable people from one location to another without meaningful support.

Speaking to reporters last week, Mamdani defended his initial decision while outlining the rationale for reinstating removals. “I made a decision with my team to put a pause on that prior administration’s policy as we started to develop our own policy that would deliver far better outcomes for the city,” he said. He emphasized that the pause was never intended to be permanent but rather part of a broader review of how municipal resources were deployed. The debate intensified during a recent stretch of frigid temperatures, when the mayor issued a Code Blue emergency declaration requiring city shelters to accept anyone seeking refuge from the cold. The emergency order underscored the life-threatening risks faced by those sleeping outdoors during extreme winter weather and placed renewed focus on how the city balances outreach, enforcement, and humanitarian concerns.

Reports indicated that at least 19 to 20 homeless individuals died outdoors during the recent cold snap, prompting sharp criticism from some elected officials and community members who linked the fatalities to the administration’s earlier encampment pause. While city authorities have said there is no direct evidence establishing a causal connection between the deaths and the suspension of sweeps, the timing fueled public debate. Mamdani addressed the issue directly, noting that enforcement actions would not take place during prolonged Code Blue periods. “We knew that that is a policy that we would only deliver on once the prolonged Code Blue came to an end, because, as we know, in a Code Blue, the focus should be on getting homeless New Yorkers inside, not on the question of how we respond to structures,” he said. His remarks highlighted the administration’s position that immediate shelter access during extreme weather must take precedence over clearing encampments.

Under the revised framework, the city’s New York City Department of Homeless Services will assume primary responsibility for encampment responses, replacing the New York Police Department’s more prominent role under prior administrations. Officials described the change as a philosophical and operational shift, intended to center outreach and social services rather than law enforcement. Outreach teams will now spend several days engaging with individuals living in encampments before any clearance occurs. According to City Hall, workers will conduct daily visits for at least seven days, offering shelter placements, mental health support, substance use treatment referrals, and other assistance. Residents will receive advance notice before an encampment is dismantled, with the stated goal of ensuring that removals follow sustained engagement rather than abrupt displacement.

The reversal represents a notable departure from Mamdani’s campaign rhetoric, during which he argued that encampment sweeps were ineffective if they failed to connect people to permanent housing. “If you are not connecting homeless New Yorkers to the housing that they so desperately need, then you cannot deem anything you’re doing to be a success,” he said while campaigning for mayor, according to AMNY. Supporters of reinstating sweeps, including some City Council members, contend that clearing encampments during extreme conditions is a matter of public safety for both unhoused residents and the broader community. They point to sanitation concerns, fire hazards, and the dangers posed by prolonged exposure to winter temperatures. Advocacy groups and homeless service providers, however, warn that renewed sweeps could erode trust between outreach workers and vulnerable individuals who may already be reluctant to enter the shelter system. They argue that fear of losing personal belongings or being displaced can make individuals less likely to engage with city services.

The policy shift comes amid mounting public pressure. According to the New York Post, city government has received more than 3,300 complaints about homeless encampments since the start of the year, reflecting widespread concern among residents and business owners. In response, Mamdani’s administration is allocating funding in the new municipal budget to hire 60 additional personnel dedicated to street outreach and placement efforts. City Hall representative Matt Rauschenbach defended the updated approach, stating, “When Mayor Mamdani took office, he paused the failed encampment sweep policies of the past, making clear that the city would no longer rely on approaches that simply moved people from block to block without real support.” He added that the objective is to maximize shelter placements so that when the city’s sanitation department clears an encampment on the seventh day, meaningful progress has already been made in connecting individuals to services. As New York City continues to grapple with homelessness amid economic pressures and seasonal extremes, Mamdani’s reversal underscores the enduring tension between compassionate outreach and enforcement-driven responses in one of the nation’s largest urban centers.