The city will now report all arrests at homeless shelters to the state and the public, officials said Thursday.
The move comes after the Daily News revealed that the Department of Homeless Services has been hiding hundreds of arrests at shelters across the five boroughs.
The city must by law report a long list of incidents at shelters, including most arrests, to the state Office of Temporary & Disability Assistance — but omitted hundreds of busts after changing its definition of “critical incidents.”
“We will report NYPD arrest data to the State as well as critical incident data,” said DHS spokesman Isaac McGinn said. “NYPD will share precinct level shelter arrest data publicly next week. It will also be posted quarterly online.”
The reports will be in addition to the information the city is already handing over to OTDA, he said.
The state agency said Wednesday it was launching an investigation into whether Mayor de Blasio’s administration was properly disclosing criminal activity in shelters.
At the Bedford-Atlantic Armory shelter in Brooklyn, for instance, the city claimed there were zero incidents of clients using, possessing or selling drugs — even though DHS police reports obtained by the News showed there were 113 narcotics-related incidents and 51 drug arrests there last year.
“The state regulates the facilities, and they by regulation must notify the state of the incidents, and that’s what the state is looking at — the discrepancy raised by the Daily News suggesting that there were no incidents versus the fact that there were actually incidents that weren’t reported,” Gov. Cuomo said of the probe earlier Thursday.
The city could face unspecified consequences if they’re found in violation, Cuomo said.
“The state funds the city shelters, and regulates the city shelters, so if they find a violation there are a number of actions they can take,” he said.
![An alleged international jewel thief wanted by Interpol was busted after stealing from the Cartier and Tiffany stores in Manhattan, prosecutors said Sunday. Yaorong Wan, 49, used sleight-of-hand at Tiffany & Co.’s at Rockefeller Center to swipe a diamond ring worth more than a quarter-million dollars, then hit the Cartier store in the Hudson Yards a week later, prosecutors allege. Wan, who was using a false identity when police caught up with him Friday, has made a name for himself as a sticky-fingered serial thief, Assistant D.A. Eliana Ramelson explained at his Manhattan Criminal Court arraignment. He’s the prime suspect […]](https://www.nydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-05-at-3.40.59 PM.png?w=423 "An alleged international jewel thief wanted by Interpol was busted after stealing from the Cartier and Tiffany stores in Manhattan, prosecutors said Sunday. Yaorong Wan, 49, used sleight-of-hand at Tiffany & Co.’s at Rockefeller Center to swipe a diamond ring worth more than a quarter-million dollars, then hit the Cartier store in the Hudson Yards a week later, prosecutors allege. Wan, who was using a false identity when police caught up with him Friday, has made a name for himself as a sticky-fingered serial thief, Assistant D.A. Eliana Ramelson explained at his Manhattan Criminal Court arraignment. He’s the prime suspect […]")
