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CNN Saturday Morning News

New York's Homeless Face Incredible Challenges

Aired August 04, 2001 - 07:18   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: At times, the homeless almost seem invisible, blending into the coves and the alleys and walls of the city. But in New York, the number of families looking for shelter has hit an all-time high, and so has the finger-pointing and argument surrounding this whole issue.

Here with more is CNN's Brian Palmer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Robin Fudge is at wits' end.

ROBIN FUDGE, HOMELESS MOTHER: We just got to find a place to live, OK?

PALMER: Once again, she says, her application for permanent housing has been turned down by the city, sending Fudge and her 3- year-old daughter back to a homeless shelter.

FUDGE: I have no problem with working, none. But I need housing. They not -- it's so hard up here. They want to charge for a one bedroom $800. How can I afford that?

PALMER: Fudge isn't alone. A record number of families in New York City, more than 6,000, with 11,000 children, are stuck in the shelter system, priced out of New York's sky-high rental market even as the economy slows.

It's a crisis homeless advocates say is invisible to most New Yorkers.

MARY BROSNAHAN, COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS: Back in the late '80s, when you walked to work or walked anywhere, you were stepping over bodies, seemingly on every street corner. But this time around, because the population has shifted, and it's mostly families with young children, we're not encountering those people on the streets.

PALMER (on camera): It's not just New York City. Many cities across the country report sharp increases in the number of people searching for places to live.

(voice-over): Demand for emergency shelter in 25 surveyed cities increased an average of 15 percent in 1999, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Homeless advocates say the private sector hasn't responded to the needs of people like Robin Fudge, so government at all levels must pitch in.

But New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani says the only real solution is private investment.

MAYOR RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), NEW YORK CITY: You don't want to go back to where you were before, with large subsidized developments that end up becoming dilapidated, deteriorated, and then you both have a diminution in the quality of the housing stock.

PALMER: Landlords like Harold Greenberg say there's no incentive to provide low-income housing.

HAROLD GREENBERG, LOS ANGELES LANDLORD: A landlord will be prosecuted. The government does not prosecute bad tenants when they destroy, when they deal drugs and things of this nature. We need a level playing field, and that's not out there.

PALMER: The homeless say they want a level playing field too. Now it's up to elected officials to figure out how to make that happen.

Brian Palmer, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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