| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 13, 2026 Contact: Team Saritha Email: Press@ |
| NEW YORK, NY — “The scenes outside the Intrepid Museum are yet another reminder that New Yorkers have been forced to accept disorder as normal. They shouldn’t have to. Homelessness has risen by 38%, and our neighborhoods have been left to deal with encampments, open drug use, deteriorating public safety, and businesses struggling to survive while Letitia James and Zohran Mamdani look the other way. That is a major failure of leadership. Leaving people out on the streets is callous and cruel. People suffering from severe mental illness or addiction deserve treatment, not abandonment on our streets. We should be using our resources to help move people into treatment, services, and stable housing, while clearing dangerous encampments so families, workers, business owners, and visitors can safely use New York’s public spaces again. We already have the resources to address this problem. Funding for homeless services has tripled since 2019. We now pay $81,000 per homeless person. Where is that money going? The recent federal indictment of four people for kickbacks related to homeless shelter contracts gives us a clue. Letitia James has created a culture where laws are selectively enforced, corruption goes unchecked, and public disorder is business as usual. Despite being the primary regulator of all homeless shelter nonprofits in New York, she has failed to investigate why we are spending more and more on homeless shelter services every year only to see the problem get worse and worse. As Attorney General, I will audit and investigate every homeless shelter non-profit in New York, direct our resources to providing free residential treatment for every New Yorker who needs it, and restore care and order. New Yorkers deserve safe streets, thriving businesses, and public spaces that belong to everyone. We must reject policies that leave vulnerable people on the streets, while forcing communities to bear the consequences. We can be compassionate and restore order and public safety all at the same time.” These growing homeless encampments were recently reported on by the NY Post on July 10 and July 12. |
| To learn more about Saritha Komatireddy’s campaign for New York Attorney General, visit SarithaForNewYork.com. |