Proposed Int. No. 778-A
By Council Members Restler, Nurse, Hudson, Banks, Cabán and P. Sanchez
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to creating an integrated and confidential data system to track all engagement with street homeless individuals
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Section 21-319 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by local law number 217 for the year 2017, is amended to read as follows:
§ 21-319 Unsheltered homeless population record. a. Definitions. For [the] purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
Data management system. The term “data management system” means a software system that controls, relates, retrieves, and provides access to data stored in a database.
Outreach staff. The term “outreach staff” means department staff or staff contracted by the department to contact and offer services to the unsheltered homeless population.
Unsheltered homeless person. The term “unsheltered homeless person” means an individual with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
b. Reporting. To the extent such information is provided voluntarily, the department shall maintain a record of all unsheltered homeless persons who are receiving services from or have been contacted by outreach staff, which shall be updated in real time and shall contain, to the extent available: first and last name, date of birth, race or ethnicity, and the location where outreach staff engaged the unsheltered homeless person, including but not be limited to, bus shelter, drop-in center, hospital, park, safe haven or subway. No later than September 1, 2018, and quarterly thereafter, the department shall submit to the speaker of the council and post online the following information:
1. [the] The total number of unsheltered homeless persons included in the record required pursuant to this subdivision, disaggregated to the extent available by the location where outreach staff first engaged the unsheltered homeless person;
2. The total number of unsheltered homeless persons who accepted services during the reporting period, disaggregated to the extent available by the type of service including, but not limited to, substance use treatment, mental health services, or medical services; and
3. The total number of engagements between outreach staff and unsheltered homeless persons that resulted in temporary placements or permanent housing.
c. Street outreach digital platform. The department shall create a digital platform accessible via mobile devices, available to outreach staff that allows for the real-time tracking and reporting of engagement with unsheltered homeless persons including, but not limited to, interactions such as speaking with unsheltered homeless persons, assisting such persons in obtaining medical treatment, and providing referrals to other services. The department shall ensure that such platform is compatible with other data management systems used by the department to identify individuals receiving services, in a manner that enables secure data sharing and facilitates the reporting required pursuant to subdivision b. The department may make available information on such platform to relevant governmental agencies conducting outreach to unsheltered homeless persons as the department deems appropriate.
d. No information that is otherwise required to be reported pursuant to this section shall be reported in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state, or local law relating to the privacy of information.
§ 2. This local law takes effect two years after it becomes law.
JC/ACK
LS #18807/18879/22023
4/22/2026 8:21pm