Manhattan's peer outreach workers can't see the city's street homeless database. A Council law ordering a shared system takes effect in 2028

A Manhattan outreach program staffed by people who have been homeless themselves has placed more than 175 people in housing since 2024, Gothamist reported Saturday. The Neighborhood Navigators were started by the Manhattan District Attorney's office and are run by the nonprofit The Bridge. They work in Central and East Harlem, Chinatown and the Lower East Side, Washington Heights and Inwood, and Midtown West, Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea.

The Mamdani administration awarded the program $1.25 million this year, Gothamist reported. But the navigators cannot see the city's database of outreach contacts, because only providers under contract with the Department of Homeless Services have access. That can make it harder to coordinate with other teams.

Why it matters to residents: nearly 5,000 people slept in parks, subway stations or on the street this year, the highest count in more than a decade, according to Gothamist. Several teams can end up approaching the same person without knowing what the others have done.

What officials have said

District Attorney Alvin Bragg told Gothamist that peer workers are effective because they have "walked in these shoes." The program's director said outreach workers ask, "What happened to you?" rather than "What's wrong with you?" A business improvement district in the Garment District has also hired the navigators.

What our records add

The Council passed a law on exactly this problem. Int. 778, from Lincoln Restler, with Sandy Nurse and Crystal Hudson as prime sponsors, requires the Department of Homeless Services to build a mobile platform for real-time tracking of every engagement with people living on the street. Under the plain-language summary, it must be available to DHS staff and contractors who do street outreach. DHS must report quarterly on how many unsheltered people outreach teams found, where, how many accepted services, and how many contacts led to shelter or permanent housing.

The Council passed it 50-0 on April 30, after the winter's cold-weather deaths. It became law May 30 without the mayor's signature, as Local Law 99 of 2026. It takes effect two years after enactment, so the system isn't required until spring 2028. The law as summarized covers DHS staff and contractors. It does not say whether teams funded through other channels, like the navigators, would get access.

Members have raised the coordination gap. At an Oct. 21 Veterans Committee hearing, Council Member Carl Wilson said that despite reports of a drop in street homelessness, he was hearing that outreach workers were not able to coordinate or share information, leaving people on the street.

The DA described the program at budget time. At the Council's March 18 public safety budget hearing, Bragg's testimony described the navigators working across high-need parts of Manhattan, approaching people on cold days whom many New Yorkers walk past. Later in the hearing, the program's cost to keep running was put at about $2.5 million a year (5:13:25).

What's next

The General Welfare and Aging committees hold a joint oversight hearing on the city's aging homeless population on Nov. 16. The first quarterly reports under Int. 778 will not come until the system is required in 2028. Gothamist reported that the city is developing a citywide plan to combat homelessness.