New York City street homelessness shot up 40 percent since the city conducted its annual estimate in 2016, Politico reported Wednesday.
According to the estimate taken in February, which is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 3,892 people in the city were deemed unsheltered and on the streets in 2017–a spike from 2,794 last winter.
That number is the highest since the city started counting city homeless back in 2005 during Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure.
Although the number of homeless have been on the rise, the number of street homeless doubled for the first time since 2014, WNYC reported. Additionally, The NY Post points out shelter homeless population is also at a peak high at around 60,000.
“While we know we have a lot more work to do,” Mayor de Blasio said of the report, “we are continuing to open more street homeless facilities and provide more programs for New Yorkers we are helping transition from the street to permanent housing.”
City officials say the annual estimate’s count, which is done over one evening, was conducted on a night in February when it was 40 degrees with little snow on the ground, as opposed to when the count was done in 2016 when the temperature was 28 degrees.
Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to reduce the number of homeless New Yorkers by shelling out $2 billion to build shelters and for services that can make more beds available by the end of the year.