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Wednesday, Oct 10, 2012 6:45 AM UTC

NYC homeless boom puts shelters in lap of wealthy

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Topics: From the Wires,

NYC homeless boom puts shelters in lap of wealthyNicholas Gayles, 6, a student at P.S. 75, plays in the school's playground across the street from a shelter on 95th Street on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012 in New York. Neighborhood residents are in turmoil, saying they were blindsided by the suddenness of the shelter's opening, sharing the same block as the school. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) (Credit: AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has opened 10 new homeless shelters in recent months to combat a growing crisis of homelessness.

More than 46,000 people are seeking shelter every night in the city’s shelters. That’s the highest number ever recorded.

A recent census report found the city harbors 14 percent of the nation’s homeless. The crisis stems from a lack of affordable housing and the city’s wide gap between the rich and the poor.

New York is required by law to provide shelter to every person who seeks it.

The city has been using its power of emergency authority to create shelters quickly. That’s upsetting residents in wealthy neighborhoods like the Upper West Side, where a homeless shelter opened in August across the street from an elementary school.

More Meghan Barr.

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