NYC Homeless Service head Gary Jenkins resigns as migrant crisis tops 44,000

The city’s embattled Commissioner of Human Services, Gary Jenkins, announced Tuesday night that he is stepping down from his post as the Big Apple’s migrant population surges to more than 44,000.

Jenkins shared the news in an interview at NY1’s Inside City Hall, announcing that his last day at the agency will be March 3. He insisted the move was planned and he would step down to explore other options and spend time with loved ones.

“There is no discord, there is no running away,” Jenkins said. “That was already planned.”

Jenkins said he got involved in public service because “helping others has always been my passion.”

“Because this agency has been helping my family from a single mom household…we were on welfare and actually lived in a shelter for a little over a year,” Jenkins said. “I’ve always said I want to go back and help others.”

Jenkins’ announcement came as the city’s shelter system was stretched thin amid an influx of migrants arriving in the Big Apple.

The city has taken in over 44,700 migrants from the southern border since the spring, with over 28,800 being housed in 88 city-run shelters and emergency hotels — most monitored by Jenkins agency.

As a result, the city’s total population in shelters is at an all-time high — totaling 70,691 adults and children, according to DSS figures reported Monday.

Mayor Eric Adams said he estimates the crisis could cost the city a peak of $4.2 billion by June 2024.

Jenkins told NY1 host Errol Louis the influx of people has been a drain on the city and reiterated the need for state and federal governments to help Gotham.

The city’s Department of Investigation is investigating Jenkins’ role in the firing of a former employee who claimed he was instrumental in a cover-up involving migrants illegally sleeping in city shelters.

Former staffer Julia Savel complained internally that Jenkins had failed to notify City Hall that on July 18 DSS violated the Big Apple’s “Right to Protect,” which requires the city to provide temporary shelters to people until 4 a.m to make available if they do request before 10pm

New York Mayor Eric Adams Jenkins praised briefly after announcing his retirement.

“Gary Jenkins has served New Yorkers for 36 years, offering our most vulnerable neighbors compassion, dignity and a way to stabilize their lives,” Adams said in a tweet. “I am incredibly grateful to Gary for his decades of service and wish him the very best in his chapter.”