Fact check: Bill deblasio put homeless people in the subways

1. Summary of the results

The analyses of multiple sources definitively contradict the claim that Bill de Blasio put homeless people in the subways. Instead, the evidence shows that de Blasio implemented policies aimed at removing homeless individuals from subway systems and providing them with alternative housing solutions.

According to the sources, de Blasio's actual policies included:

• A 6-Point Action Plan to end long-term street homelessness that focused on increasing safe haven capacity, creating new permanent apartments, and delivering health resources ^[1]
• An initiative to create 2,000 apartments and beds in informal shelters to end chronic street homelessness within five years ^[2]
• The expansion of the Subway Diversion project, which allowed homeless people to avoid civil summonses by accepting referrals to shelters or other services rather than remaining in subway stations ^[3]

The sources consistently show that de Blasio took responsibility for addressing subway homelessness as a problem to be solved, not as a policy to be implemented ^[4].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original statement completely omits the actual nature of de Blasio's homelessness policies, which were focused on housing solutions rather than subway placement. Several critical pieces of context are missing:

• Andrew Cuomo, not de Blasio, proposed policies involving subway removals of unhoused individuals, specifically reinstating pandemic-era nightly removals from subway trains and stations ^[5]
• The de Blasio administration's comprehensive approach included keeping people in their homes, making operational reforms, and reimagining shelter strategy ^[6]
• There was significant media controversy and conflation of homelessness with subway crime during this period, which may have contributed to public confusion about the actual policies ^[7]

Political opponents and critics of de Blasio's administration would benefit from perpetuating the false narrative that he "put" homeless people in subways, as it portrays his policies as harmful rather than solution-oriented. Real estate interests and business groups also benefit from narratives that blame individual politicians for complex urban problems rather than addressing systemic housing affordability issues.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement contains significant factual inaccuracies and appears to reverse the actual intent and implementation of de Blasio's policies. The claim suggests deliberate placement of homeless individuals in subway systems, when the documented evidence shows the opposite approach.

This type of misinformation serves to:

• Distort public understanding of actual homelessness policies and their goals
• Shift blame from systemic housing issues to individual political figures
• Oversimplify complex urban policy challenges into misleading soundbites

The statement may reflect partisan political messaging designed to damage de Blasio's reputation by attributing the opposite of his actual policy positions to him. The complete absence of supporting evidence in any of the analyzed sources strongly suggests this claim originated from political opposition rather than factual reporting.