Chinatown killings focus spotlight on New York's homeless

The killings shocked people and drew fresh attention to the homeless problem in the city of 8.5 million, where nearly one in every 121 New Yorkers is without a home, according to The Bowery Mission, which has served homeless and hungry people in the city since the 1870s.

Last year, there were 78,676 homeless people in New York, according to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, followed by Los Angeles with 49,955 and 9,780 in San Francisco. HUD's figures are based on data reported by some 3,000 cities and counties nationwide.

While New York has far more homeless than Los Angeles, it has a much lower percentage of unsheltered homeless, 5 percent, compared with 75 percent in Los Angeles, HUD said.

Other figures illustrate the homeless situation in New York.

An outreach program to help the homeless expects to spend $126 million this year, including sending in 400 workers, according to a spokesman for the city's Department of Homeless Services.

More than 59,000 people live in shelters for the homeless, according to city officials.

In August, there were 14,806 homeless families with 21,802 children in the city, according to the Coalition for the Homeless.

In addition, the city places individuals and families in hotels. In 2017, New York's comptroller, a state cabinet officer, said about $530,000 was spent per day on the provision of hotel rooms. Last year, the city said it would spend $364 million annually over the next few years to house the homeless in hotels.

The Aladdin, a former hotel that now shelters the homeless, houses 300 people. Located just west of Times Square on West 45th street, it is just across the street from the Broadway theater area.