Today's Video Headlines: 03/12/26
Mayor Zohran Mamdani ’s administration has inked a new nearly $1.9 billion contract with the city’s hotel industry to provide emergency shelter to homeless families over the next three years, The Post has learned.
The massive $1.86 billion deal comes despite the Big Apple no longer being heavily burdened by the migrant crisis that led then-Mayor Eric Adams to turn scores of hotels into temporary shelters to house the thousands of new arrivals.But even with the ebbing influx of migrants, the city is still grappling to shelter more than 100,000 people a night — the highest level since the Great Depression of the 1930s, according to the advocacy group Homes for the Homeless.Young man ‘enraged by the homeless’ before being charged with execution at squalid RV campHuge twist in case of homeless man accused of attack on SF mayor’s bodyguard as judge watches viral video The city Department of Homeless Services’ three-year contract is with the Hotel Association of New York City Foundation, representing nearly 300 of the Big Apple hotels. “The contract is for emergencies not migrants, and allows capacity to be created as-needed and the budget depends on that need,” said Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of the Hotel Association.“It’s bad precedent. It’s basically a no-bid contract,” said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute think tank.“This is no longer using hotels for short-term emergencies,” she said. “If we’re going to use hotels for shelter, they should compete against each other for price and not act as a cartel.” New York City has among the highest hotel rates in the country — and taking thousands of rooms offline doesn’t help make the tourist-reliant metropolis more affordable, Gelinas noted.Mamdani moves to close NYC’s largest men’s homeless shelter housing 250 A spokesperson for the hotel industry said it was helping the city address a serious homelessness problem and that hotels on the market offer a wide range of lodging prices.The city used to deal with individual hotels on providing emergency shelter. But it began contracting with the Hotel Association during the COVID-19 pandemic to immediately provide thousands of rooms to help contain the deadly once-in-a-century outbreak.Mamdani, when he took office, ordered the DHS to start dismantling the separate hotel-reliant migrant shelter system — while simultaneously letting asylum seekers continue staying in city shelters without time limits, reversing an Adams policy. DHS no longer oversees any hotels or other shelter sites dedicated solely to asylum-seekers, an agency spokesman said. DHS spokesman Nicholas Jacobelli said the city expects to pay less than the $1.86 billion value of the renewed contract over three years.A homeless person sleeping on the bench of a bus stop on East 23rd Street in Manhattan on Feb. 21, 2026.“The agency ultimately pays based on utilization so, as we move to phase out the use of emergency commercial hotel facilities, we expect actual spending to remain below that maximum,” he said. DHS is focusing on Mamdani’s executive order to end reliance on hotels to serve families with children because those facilities lack the full array of amenities that traditional DHS family shelters provide, he said. But he said the “transition will take time” to bring more capacity online and in the interim “we must maintain an adequate stock of shelter units to comply with the city’s right to shelter mandate.” “It’s also important to have a pathway to quickly open additional shelter units outside the DHS system in the case of emergency /exigent circumstances ,” Jacobelli said. “This contract allows us to meet the demand for shelter and maintain services for clients as we phase out the use of hotels while also remaining prepared for emergency situations.”“The City’s use of hotels to serve as emergency shelters is obviously far from ideal. But given that the City has both a legal and moral obligation to provide shelter to all in need of such, they must make sure that they have enough beds,” said David Giffen, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless. “The 20 tragic deaths on the streets that we witnessed in last month’s frigid weather illustrate how important it is that we make sure no one has to sleep outside, exposed to the elements,” he said. “The best way to end the use of hotels is to dramatically reduce the number of people who need shelters in the first place by building more housing that’s actually affordable to the lowest-income New Yorkers.”Trump issues new threat about Iran: 'Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today' You're aging yourself faster if you make these 7 mistakes — and what you can do about it with the least effortZendaya wows in Whitney Houston’s dress at Essence Black Women in Hollywood AwardsCindy Crawford roasted over morning routine: ‘Nothing like having money’Does this mean the end of Jon Jones? | Against the CageA homeless person sleeping on the bench of a bus stop on East 23rd Street in Manhattan on Feb. 21, 2026. Stream It Or Skip It: 'Scarpetta' On Prime Video, Where Nicole Kidman Is A Medical Examiner Who Is Haunted By Serial Killings She Thought She Solved Two Decades Ago
US News Exclusive Homeless Shelters Homelessness Hotels Migrants New York City Zohran Mamdani
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
CNN's Abby Phillip apologizes for inaccurately reporting ISIS-inspired bomb throwers were targeting MamdaniA pair of ISIS-trained extremists were charged with hurling an IED at Gracie Mansion duringa rowdy weekend protest — allegedly packing the homemade bomb with “Mother of Satan,” a volatile explosive favored by international terrorists, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a press conference The two pro-Muslim fanatics – Ibraham Kayumi, 19,...
Read more »
CNN’s Abby Phillip apologizes for saying NYC bombing attempt targeted MamdaniPhillip said she “didn’t catch” an inaccurate statement she made on Tuesday regarding the bombing attempt in New York City.
Read more »
Gracie Mansion terror plot: Mamdani urges broad rejection of violence as another bomb scare rattles UpperMayor Zohran Mamdani reaffirmed on Tuesday his support for free speech in New York City in the wake of a Saturday bomb scare during an anti-Muslim protest and
Read more »
Mamdani administration restarts homeless encampment sweeps at 11 NYC sitesCity Hall said many of the encampments were abandoned locations inside parks.
Read more »
Private NYC preschool to hike tuition by 20% — blaming Mamdani's 'destabilizing' free pre-K expansionToday's Video Headlines: 03/12/26
Read more »
NYC's Mamdani condemns Tuberville's anti-Muslim posts as 'bigotry'Speaking at a public iftar dinner, held to break the daily Ramadan fast, New York City Mayor Mamdani described Sen. Tuberville's anti-Muslim rhetoric as 'bigotry' and 'hatred.'
Read more »