City, failing to “reduce homelessness” by solving problems with housing and jobs, finally just shuts families out of shelter. by Sophia Bryant The city has a problem: Bloomberg promised he would reduce the number of homeless New Yorkers by two-thirds by 2010. But people are still poor and they can’t afford housing. So now, the city is making it even harder for families to enter the shelter system – they’re punishing the people who need housing for the simple fact that shelter numbers aren’t going down.