2020 APPLICATION NATIONAL STATE AUDITORS ASSOCIATION EXCELLENCE IN ACCOUNTABILITY AWARD Homeless Outreach Program at Penn Station, Grand Central, and Outlying Stations Within New York City DIVISION OF STATE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY PERFORMANCE AUDIT OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK STATE COMPTROLLER National State Auditors Association 2020 Excellence in Accountability Awards ENTRY FORM Name of project: Homeless Outreach Program at Penn Station, Grand Central, and Outlying Stations Within New York City - Metropolitan Transportation Authority State submitting entry: New York State Office: Office of the New York State Comptroller State contact person: Tina Kim, Deputy Comptroller Phone number: 518-474-5598 Email address: [email protected] Please indicate the award type you are submitting for: Performance Audit X Number audit hours 1,740 Forensic Report Special Project Each entry must be submitted in unprotected PDF format only to Sherri Rowland at [email protected], and should include the following: Completed entry form. A write-up (maximum of 2 pages) identifying the report/project performed and the result. A copy of the formal report or project. (This requirement may be waived at the Committee’s discretion for a Special Project, depending on the nature of the project. See award guidelines for more information.) Additional information such as copies of newspaper articles, legislation or policy changes that resulted from the report or project. Additional materials too large to email (e.g., video of a news item) should be submitted on a CD/DVD/thumb drive. Six (6) copies of the CD/DVD/thumb drive must be received by Sherri Rowland at NSAA prior to the submission deadline. CDs/DVDs/thumb drives should be mailed to Sherri at 449 Lewis Hargett Circle, Suite, 290, Lexington, KY 40503. Please note: It is solely the submitter’s responsibility to ensure that all materials are received by Sherri Rowland prior to the submission deadline. To be considered for an award, all documents must be submitted electronically in PDF format. Links to documents on a website will not be accepted. (See exception above for materials too large to email, and certain Special Projects subject to committee approval.) PDF documents must not be protected in any manner that would prevent printing or require a password to access the documents. Protected documents will be disqualified. The entry must be e-mailed to Sherri Rowland at [email protected] and received no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Monday, February 17, 2020. Submissions received after the deadline will not be accepted. You will receive a confirmation e-mail confirming your entry was received. If you have not received confirmation within two business days, please contact Sherri directly at (859) 276-1147. National State Auditors Association 2020 Excellence in Accountability Awards ENTRY FORM Name of project: Homeless Outreach Program at Penn Station, Grand Central, and Outlying Stations Within New York City - Metropolitan Transportation Authority State submitting entry: New York State Office: Office of the New York State Comptroller State contact person: Tina Kim, Deputy Comptroller Phone number: 518-474-5598 ABOUT Email address: [email protected] Please indicate the award type you are submitting for: US Performance Audit X Number audit hours 1,740 Forensic Report Special Project Each entry must be submitted in unprotected PDF format only to Sherri Rowland at [email protected], and should include the following: ABOUT THE OFFICE OF THE NEW YORK STATE COMPTROLLER Completed entry form. The New York State Comptroller is the State’s chief fiscal officer, who ensures that State and local governments A write-up (maximum of 2 pages) identifying the report/project performed and the result. use taxpayer money effectively and efficiently to promote the common good. A copy of the formal report or project. (This requirement may be waived at the Committee’s discretion for a Special Project, depending on the nature of the project. See award guidelines for more information.) The Comptroller’s responsibilities include: Additional information such as copies of newspaper articles, legislation or policy changes ၔ that resulted from the report or project. Additional materials too large to email (e.g., video of a Conducting audits of State agencies and public benefit corporations news item) should be submitted on a CD/DVD/thumb drive. Six (6) copies of the CD/DVD/thumb ၔ Serving as sole trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, one of the largest drive must be received by Sherri Rowland at NSAA prior to the submission deadline. institutional investors in the world CDs/DVDs/thumb drives should be mailed to Sherri at 449 Lewis Hargett Circle, Suite, 290, ၔ Administering the New York State and Local Retirement System for public employees, with more Lexington, KY 40503. than one million members, retirees, and beneficiaries and more than 3,000 employers Please note: ၔ Maintaining the State’s accounting system and administering the State’s payroll It is solely the submitter’s responsibility to ensure that all materials are received by Sherri Rowland ၔ Reporting on State finances prior to the submission deadline. ၔ Managing and issuing State debt To be considered for an award, all documents must be submitted electronically in PDF format. ၔ Reviewing State contracts and auditing payments Links to documents on a website will not be accepted. (See exception above for materials too large to ၔ Overseeing the fiscal ffairsa of local governments, including New York City and school districts email, and certain Special Projects subject to committee approval.) ၔ Overseeing the Justice Court Fund and the Oil Spill Fund PDF documents must not be protected in any manner that would prevent printing or require a ၔ Serving as custodian of unclaimed funds, restoring lost accounts to their rightful owners password to access the documents. Protected documents will be disqualified. ၔ Conducting training and providing technical assistance to improve government operations at all levels The entry must be e-mailed to Sherri Rowland at [email protected] and received no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Monday, February 17, 2020. Submissions received after the deadline will not be accepted. Headquartered in Albany, the Office of the State Comptroller employs more than 2,700 people. The Office You will receive a confirmation e-mail confirming your entry was received. If you have not received also maintains New York City offices and eight regional offices. confirmation within two business days, please contact Sherri directly at (859) 276-1147. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (MTA) HOMELESS OUTREACH PROGRAM AT PENN STATION, GRAND CENTRAL, AND OUTLYING STATIONS WITHIN NEW YORK CITY | PERFORMANCE AUDIT Exhibits Page 1. Submission Narrative 5 2. Taxpayers’ Guide to the Audit 9 3. Nominated Report: MTA: Homeless Outreach Program, 2018-S-5 13 4. New York State Comptroller Press Release 45 5. Exhibits Related to Outcomes 49 5.1 The Governor’s Letter to the MTA Board 50 5.2 OSC Infographic of the MTA/NYS Homelessness Task Force Recommendations 56 5.3 MTA/NYS Homelessness Task Force Recommendations 58 5.4 MTA Inspector General’s Letter to MTA Chairman Foye 68 5.5 Media Coverage & Stakeholders’ Responses to the Audit 72 6. Companion Study: Homeless Outreach Programs on MTA Properties, 2019-D-1 99 3 1. SUBMISSION NARRATIVE This two-page narrative overviews the audit report’s findings and results, highlights the audit’s impact, and demonstrates how the audit meets the Performance Audit Award criteria. 5 PERFORMANCE AUDIT WRITE-UP Homelessness within New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) system is a human and economic tragedy – evidence of an epic failure to meet the needs of the thousands of homeless seeking shelter and to ensure quality of services for the millions of MTA riders. The Office of the State Comptroller’s (OSC) audit of the MTA’s Homeless Outreach Program exposed gross negligence and faulty performance metrics – igniting immediate, cross-agency action to comprehensively address this issue. As the largest transportation network in North America, the MTA provides over 2.6 billion trips each year, carrying 8 million riders daily – as well as 60 million tourists annually – throughout its 5,000-square-mile system in New York City (NYC) and the surrounding area. The presence of homeless sheltering within NYC’s public transit system has been a growing concern, presenting a challenge for the MTA to maintain its goals of safety, security and comfort for all individuals in the transit environment, while negatively impacting taxpayers’ investment in the transit system. The MTA, for example, cited the continuing challenge of homelessness as a contributing factor to declining revenues in its Grand Central Terminal dining concourse. Since 2010, the MTA has spent about $21 million in contracts with a non-profit homeless outreach provider to deliver outreach and placement services. Despite this significant investment, there is little evidence of progress nearly 10 years later: by all appearances, vast numbers of homeless are still present on MTA property and are not connecting with organizations that could support them. A 2019 NYC homeless survey found that the number of homeless individuals in the New York City subway system grew from 1,771 in 2018 to an all-time high of 2,178 in 2019 – more than a 20 percent jump – marking an upward trend that is outpacing the growth of the NYC homeless population overall. Meanwhile, significant portions of the MTA’s busiest hubs are essentially functioning as ill-equipped, de facto shelters. Recognizing the magnitude of this issue, OSC examined the MTA’s oversight of homeless outreach at two hubs and several outlying stations within the metropolitan region [Exhibits 2, 3, and 4: Taxpayers’ Guide to the Audit, Audit Report, and Comptroller’s Press Release] – one in a four-part series of audits of homeless outreach programs on MTA properties [Exhibit 6: Companion Study] and part of a broader series of audits examining homelessness across New York State.