| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 13, 2026 Contact: Nicole Kiprilov Phone: 347-409-4635 Email: Press@SarithaForNewYork.com |
| NEW YORK — Today, candidate for New York Attorney General Saritha Komatireddy issued the following statement in response to reports of escalating public safety concerns surrounding the West 59th Street women’s shelter on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, operated by Project Renewal under a long-term contract with the New York City Department of Homeless Services: “Homelessness is up 38% under Letitia James and this is the effect. New York is spending billions of hardworking taxpayers’ dollars on homelessness, yet people struggling with serious mental illness and addiction are still not getting the treatment they need, while families and neighborhoods are left to deal with the horrendous consequences. It is a crisis across the city and across the state. We spend $81,000 per homeless person, triple what we used to, and the problem is getting worse. Take a minute to read what some of these parents are saying. “When you have little ones running around, it becomes unsafe.” No parent should have to deal with this. These women deserve real treatment and a path toward recovery, and parents deserve to take their children to a neighborhood playground without encountering needles, public drug use, and dangerous behavior. The Attorney General has the authority and responsibility to oversee homeless shelters in New York, and has the money to build residential treatment centers around the state. Letitia James has failed to do either. As Attorney General, I will audit and investigate every homeless shelter in New York, and I will provide residential treatment for every New Yorker who needs it. New Yorkers deserve to know where their money is going, whether promised services are actually being provided, and whether these organizations are truly helping the people they are being paid to serve. We can treat homeless and mentally ill New Yorkers humanely while restoring safety and order to our neighborhoods.” |