New York City Commissioner of Human Services Gary Jenkins resigns: sources

As New York City’s immigration crisis continues amid an investigation into alleged cover-ups at homeless shelters, the head of the city’s Department of Human Services is stepping down, multiple sources tell NBC New York.

Gary Jenkins, who oversees both the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and the Human Resources Administration (HRA), told colleagues on Tuesday that he is stepping down to pursue other opportunities, multiple sources told News 4.

“After 36 years, I have decided to retire,” Jenkins said in an interview Tuesday night.

“No disagreement, no escape… This agency helped my family. I always wanted to go back and help others,” he said, explaining how he lived in homeless shelters as a young New Yorker.

Two sources tell News 4 that the city’s plan is for Molly Park, DHS’s first deputy commissioner, to act as commissioner after he leaves, which is expected to happen by March 3.

In a statement, Mayor Eric Adams noted that Jenkins “provided our most vulnerable neighbors with compassion, dignity and a path to stabilizing their lives. Under his leadership, the Department of Human Services has invested a historic amount to support homeless New Yorkers—bringing and leaving over 1,100 people living in our subway to the shelter as part of our subway safety plan and inviting those who have life experiences, to the table to help develop our housing and homelessness plans.”

Adams added that Jenkins’ stay at the shelter as a child gave him “a unique understanding of the challenges faced by families in shelters and an unwavering commitment to treating all of our clients with dignity and caring. I am incredibly grateful to Gary for his decades of service and wish him all the best for his next chapter.”

The mayor has previously defended the Commissioner of Human Services and the department he heads, saying their work is “commendable” and that he is “proud” of the agency. The mayor later added that he supported the decisions of Jenkins’ staff and said that any conversation he had with the commissioner about firing the whistleblower was “personal conversation of a personal nature”.

The resignation came amid an investigation into the firing of a DHS informant after he resisted Jenkins’ alleged attempts to hide overcrowded conditions at the city’s shelters from City Hall; Jenkins says he and senior staff were unaware that placing families in the admissions unit was illegal and denied any attempt to cover up the poor conditions. He also insisted that the whistleblower was fired for a different reason, but did not elaborate on why.

Several sources have told News 4 in recent weeks that Jenkins has discussed his desire to leave the agency and pursue other opportunities.

The city’s Investigation Department began investigating the case last year and said in a statement last month that it was “an active and ongoing investigation.” The department did not comment on when the investigation is expected to close or whether it is related to Jenkins’ resignation.

DSS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Human Services Commissioner Gary Jenkins said there was no cover-up at Friday’s press conference but avoided other questions regarding the situation. News 4 correspondent Melissa Russo reports this.

DOI launched an investigation after News 4 reported on allegations that DSS was trying to cover up violations of the law at its homeless shelter.

Emails and text messages provided to News 4 I-Team suggested that Deputy Public Information Commissioner Julia Savel noted Human Services Commissioner Gary Jenkins’ efforts to hide overcrowding conditions in the city’s homeless shelter system from his bosses at City Hall, from the media, and from the public.

In one text message dated July 20, Savel told a city hall spokeswoman that she planned to inquire about a move to another agency, stating, “Just can’t work for a commish who agrees to cover up something illegal.”

A few weeks later, Vesti 4 reported that Savel had been fired from the DSS.

Homeless Service Investigation: Chronology of Events

Department of Homeless Affairs officials say they learned on July 18 that families with children were forced to stay overnight at the city’s Bronx Homeless Reception Unit, known as PATH. and Legal Aid, which represents people living in an orphanage.

The text messages imply that Savel notified the mayor’s office the next day, July 19. On the same day, Mayor Adams announced that New York City needed federal funding to help with the 2,800 asylum seekers who have entered the shelter system in recent weeks. But the mayor didn’t specifically mention any wrongdoing or families sleeping in the emergency room.

Later that week, Adams said he did not know the city had violated its “right of asylum” until July 20.

Several sources tell News 4 that Department of Human Services employees, including the agency’s legal team, were outraged after they were ordered to refrain from reporting City Hall and not immediately notifying the Legal Aid Society, as was the case in past protocol.

The chief spokeswoman for New York City’s Department of Homeless Services was fired Friday after speaking out against her boss’s alleged lies and omissions about illegal conditions in the city’s homeless shelter system, according to a source familiar with the situation. NBC New York reporter Melissa Russo reports.

The City admits there was a delay in disclosing the violations, but they say senior Department of Human Services officials, including the Commissioner, were unaware that they were required by law not to place families overnight in the emergency room.

This is despite the fact that the report is sent out every morning at 4 a.m. to notify social service leaders of any violations. (Jenkins has also worked in the city’s social services for over 30 years, having previously been an administrator and, before that, First Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Human Resources. When previously asked if it bothered him that such an experienced commissioner was unaware of these reporting rules, Adams replied: “There are many laws that we must obey.”)

In another statement, Mayor’s Office spokeswoman Fabienne Levy previously said Jenkins was briefed on the families left in the ER the morning after it happened and “immediately” informed Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Ann. Williams-Isom at City Hall.

“There was never any intention of delaying reporting the issue to anyone at City Hall. The quoted text messages are misleading, lack context, and were delivered by a former junior administration official who was not involved in conversations between our leadership teams. Levy said in a statement. “We will continue to do the hard and important work to provide shelter to all who need it.”

The City’s Department of Investigation launches an investigation after an alleged cover-up of illegal conditions in the homeless shelter system and the firing of an employee who attempted to expose it. NBC New York reporter Melissa Russo reports.

The mayor later added that there was no cover-up and insisted that Jenkins “report immediately” violations of the law.

Screenshots of text messages obtained by the I-Team suggest that Savel reported the breach to the mayor’s press office against the wishes of Commissioner Jenkins.

“I have just been told that I am no longer allowed to say anything to City Hall,” Savel wrote in a July 20 text message to Eric Adams Deputy Press Secretary Kate Smart.

“Gary tried not to tell City Hall that we broke the law. I got yelled at for what I told you. I’ve known since Monday.”

The mayor’s spokeswoman replied, “Oh.”

Savel had previously declined to comment for News 4 on the content of the posts. Some of her former colleagues suggested that she left her previous job because of the mixed reviews, while others spoke highly of her.

Homeless advocates are threatening to sue the Adams administration. Melissa Russo explains why.

False statements?

The situation at the reception center became public on July 20 after the News 4 I-Team interviewed families of Venezuelan migrants who said they had spent several nights at the PATH office. When News 4 requested a response from DHS, an internal debate began about whether to tell the truth, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

An internal email thread, including high-ranking agency officials, lawyers and representatives, shows that Jenkins offered to make a false statement that “we are fulfilling our legal asylum mandate.”

Lawyers told Jenkins he couldn’t lie about breaking the law, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Savel’s statement, published to News 4 a few hours later, was more truthful: the city “failed to accommodate four families immediately by 4 a.m. as required by law.”

Gaby Acevedo reports on Mayor Adams’ call for more help amid migrant crisis

A Department of Human Services spokesman said in a statement that the city has a “legal and moral obligation” to provide asylum to all who need it, and “despite unprecedented challenges,” the department will remain committed to fulfilling that mandate.

At a press conference on July 21, after the News 4 report aired, Mayor Adams admitted that they had broken the law on a small number of families, adding that they had broken “the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law.”

When News 4 pressed that the families were insisting they stay in the emergency room for several days, Adams said his staff told him that “no one was sleeping on the floor.” (Families of migrants said they slept with 60 or even 80 people and did not get enough food.)