Class Action Lawsuit Calls New York City Homeless Encampment Sweeps ‘Inhumane,’ ‘Unconstitutional’

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The City of New York, Mayor Eric Adams and several public officials face a proposed class action lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of so-called “homeless sweeps” meant to disband outdoor encampments of individuals experiencing homelessness, forcing them to relocate and seizing and destroying personal property—often with little to no warning.

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The 71-page lawsuit says thousands of homeless sweeps—referred to as “cleanups” by the city—are conducted each year, purportedly to connect unsheltered New Yorkers with social services, provide temporary storage for their belongings, and dismantle illegal, unsanitary or unsafe street conditions.

The case contends, however, that the reality of the situation involves “displacing homeless people and seizing and destroying their personal belongings,” which the filing scathes “does nothing to advance these goals” and in fact causes “irreparable harm” to unhoused individuals.

According to the complaint, an audit released by the New York City Comptroller last year shows that of the 2,308 people the city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) forcibly removed from encampment sites between March and November 2022, only 90 stayed in a shelter for more than one day and only three secured permanent housing.

Also contrary to the city’s goals, there exists no established process for individuals to reclaim their personal property after it has been taken, the filing alleges. The suit contends that this is because city workers indiscriminately throw belongings into the back of sanitation trucks and compact them during sweeps.

Per the filing, the city destroys items critical to the survival of individuals experiencing homelessness, including warm clothing, shoes, medications, bedding and personal documentation needed to access public benefits, seek employment and secure permanent housing. The city also does not spare personal items, like family photographs, jewelry, books or hygiene products, the filing says.

As the case tells it, sweeps can be carried out by representatives from the DHS, New York City Police Department, Department of Sanitation, Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Transportation or the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

The lawsuit also alleges that the city’s sweeps cannot be justified by safety or sanitation-related goals, since it primarily dismantles sites that do not feature structures of any kind and consistently disposes of personal property that does not pose public health concerns.

The case charges that New York City’s widespread sweeping of unhoused citizens is inhumane, deeply traumatizing and unconstitutional.

“By displacing homeless New Yorkers and forcing them to perpetually relocate, homeless sweeps prevent the formation of community ties, jeopardize people’s current and prospective employment, and have an incredibly destabilizing effect on the lives of this highly vulnerable population, making it even more difficult for them to obtain housing and exit homelessness,” the suit stresses.

The lawsuit looks to represent any unhoused person who has had and/or will have their personal belongings seized and/or destroyed or has been and/or will be forced to leave the place where they reside by the City of New York during a “cleanup” of a homeless hotspot, popup or encampment.

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