CITY OF NEW YORK
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI, MAYOR
Press Office
212-788-2958
STATE OF NEW YORK
EXECUTIVE CHAMBER
GEORGE E. PATAKI, GOVERNOR
Press Office
518-474-8418
Press Release Archives #158-99- MAYOR GIULIANI AND GOVERNOR PATAKI ANNOUNCE NEW YORK/NEW YORK II PROGRAM

Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Wednesday, April 21, 1999

Release # 158-99




MAYOR GIULIANI AND GOVERNOR PATAKI ANNOUNCE NEW YORK/NEW YORK II PROGRAM

Agreement Will Create New Housing, Services for 2,300 Homeless Mentally Ill Persons in New York City

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Governor George E. Pataki today announced agreement on New York/New York II. Under the agreement, New York State and New York City will provide housing and community-based services to more than 2,300 homeless mentally ill persons.

These services will be provided over a five-year period by opening 1,500 new residential beds, and by managing natural turnover in these special housing units as individuals recover from their illnesses and are able to live independently without residential supports.

"This is another example of a successful partnership between the City and the State. The original New York/New York program was a great success," said Mayor Giuliani. "It decreased the number of mentally ill persons in the City's shelter system and on the streets of New York by providing safe housing, complete with health and social services. In 1990, at the start of the New York/New York program, there were more than 9,000 single adults in the city shelters. After most of the units opened in 1995, the number of single adults in shelters fell to just over 6,000.

"More than 9,000 individuals have been placed in NY/NY units," the Mayor continued. "Participants are placed in a single room occupancy unit in a building that offers on-site mental services. It is a cost-effective and therapeutic alternative to a City shelter, State psychiatric hospital, City hospital, jail cell, or the streets. This program gives clients a better opportunity to reintegrate into society while it improves the City's quality of life. We look forward to adding 1,500 units and continuing this intelligent solution to a persistent social problem."

"Today marks a new beginning in the lives of many of our fellow New Yorkers who are living in emergency shelters or on the streets of this City while coping with mental illness," Governor Pataki said. "The New York/New York program is a prime example of the compassion New York is known for throughout the nation, allowing this vulnerable population to receive appropriate care and services in a safe environment. Providing homeless mentally ill individuals with a home and the support services they need to recover from this illness is the right thing to do for them and for our society."

The agreement targets mentally ill persons using emergency shelters; those discharged from hospitals with a history of homelessness; and those who are living in streets, parks, subways, and other public spaces. This program builds on the successful New York/New York program that was completed in 1998. Governor Pataki's 1999-2000 Executive Budget recommends the full continued funding of the original agreement, along with the funds required to implement this New York/ New York II initiative.

To support this agreement, the State and City will provide more than $100 million in funding over a five-year period. Under the New York/New York II initiative: