On the heels of reporting by NY1, New York City released new numbers Thursday morning on how many homeless people are actually staying in shelter after they have been kicked off the subway.

The number is a fraction of what was previously reported.

What You Need To Know

  • The city says so far 824 homeless people from the subway accepted a referral to a shelter

  • But just 102 people who accepted shelter placement remained in a shelter

  • City officials say any number of homeless people entering shelter is considered a victory.

​Every day for the past week, Mayor Bill de Blasio has released statistics on how many homeless people are moving into homeless shelters after the subway closes down for overnight cleaning. Each day the mayor has said hundreds of people have accepted city services — including shelter.

On Thursday, a much clearer picture was given of what those numbers actually mean.

According to the Department of Homeless Services, in the first five days of the subway shutdown, 824 homeless people from the subway accepted a referral to a shelter.

Of those, 201 actually went through the full intake process and accepted a shelter placement.

As of Thursday, 102 of them were still in shelter. That means about 12 percent of those who originally accepted services remained in shelter.

On Monday, NY1 spent a whole night with homeless people getting ejected from the subway, witnessing firsthand how the process of transferring homeless people from the subway to shelter worked. Many of the people who boarded buses from the subway to get shelter ended up walking off into the night once they got to the shelter location.

The mayor’s numbers prove that practice was much more widespread.

Even so, city officials say any number of homeless people entering shelter is considered a victory.

“Anyone accepting any services is a step forward,” de Blasio said Thursday. This is a “tough playing field,” he added, and even getting to the door of the shelter is a good thing.

That's even if the homeless person ends up walking away.

------

Looking for an easy way to learn about the issues affecting New York City?

Listen to our "Off Topic/On Politics" podcast: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | RSS

-----

FURTHER CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

What to Do If You Test Positive for COVID-19

How Hospitals Protect Against the Spread of Coronavirus

Coronavirus Likely Spreads Without Symptoms

Coronavirus: The Fight to Breathe

Cuomo Granted Broad New Powers as New York Tackles Coronavirus