The New York/New York Agreements

The City and the State have entered into three New York/New York Agreements to provide funding to nonprofit providers and developers to create supportive and licensed housing for homeless people with mental illness and other disabilities. They are some of the most successful collaborations between different levels of government and between government and the nonprofit sector ever implemented.

The 1990 New York/New York Agreement to House Homeless Mentally Ill Individuals was a historic joint effort by the State and City that created 3,615 units of supportive housing and licensed permanent and transitional housing for homeless mentally ill people in New York City. It was the largest housing initiative for homeless mentally ill people in history and, at its peak had a significant impact on lowering the shelter census.

New York /New York II, signed in 1999, committed the city and state to creating an additional 1500 units of supportive housing.

In 2001, a study facilitated by the Corporation for Supportive Housing and conducted by Dennis Culhane, Stephen Metraux and Trevor Hadley was released quantifying the impact of New York/New York housing on clients' use of health, mental health, homeless and hospital services. The study found that the savings realized in seven systems of care virtually paid for supportive housing as well as clients' use of services after becoming housed. The Corporation for Supportive Housing published a comprehensive history of the New York/New York Agreement as well as a summary of the study findings. The Wall Street Journal covered the study's release about the findings.

In November 2005, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki signed New York/New York III, committing to create 9,000 units of supportive housing for a variety of disabled homeless people in New York City over ten years: the largest commitment to creating housing for homeless people in the nation's history.

In spring 2006, the Network analyzed the Agreement and published its recommendations for implementing NYNY III including descriptions of possible new housing models. The New York Times reported the historic commitment.