Providing shelter is a family affair at the city Department of Homeless Services.
The firm of Homeless Service Administrator Joslyn Carter’s sister has been awarded 17 contracts with the agency valued at a staggering $1.7 billion, according to data compiled by city Comptroller Brad Lander’s office.
Carter’s sister, Valerie Smith, is vice president of New York City Housing programs for Yonkers-based Westhab Inc., which runs homeless shelters in the city.
She has been a top administrator there since 2017.
Seventeen of the social services contracts were awarded by DHS, many in recent years with Smith working at the agency as the city grapples with a record homeless population fueled by a massive influx of migrants from the southern border.
Three others were awarded by the Department of Youth and Community Development and two by the Department of Education, totaling $4.7 million.
Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) demanded an investigation by the Department of Investigation and Conflicts of Interest Board after hearing of the unusual sibling relationship involving the city homeless services honcho and a top contractor awarded business with the agency.
Holden griped numerous times about problems at a shelter for 180 single men run by Westhab on Cooper Avenue in Glendale in his district — including complaints of drug use, violence, masturbating in public and menacing neighbors — some of which were exposed in a CBS report last September.
He suspected something was amiss when he said he failed to get an adequate response from Westhab or the city homeless officials.
“The whole thing stinks to high heaven. Why is Westhab getting all this money?,” Holden said Sunday. “It looks like they have someone on the inside. They’re protected.”
“They’re not doing a good job at the shelter on Cooper Avenue. It’s a mess over there.”
In a Feb. 8 letter to DOI and COIB, Holden said, “I recently learned from a credible source that the Department of Homeless Services Administrator Joslyn Carter is the sister of Westhab’s Vice President of New York City Shelter Programs, Valerie Smith. I am concerned that immediate family members can work on the same contract despite a potential conflict of interest.”
He told the investigative and ethics agencies that there have been 1,500 calls to 911 for the shelter and 156 resident arrests.
“As you know, corruption and criminal acts often occur in the social service industry.
While I am not making any accusations against the two sisters, I would like your offices
to investigate to ensure all parties follow regulations and laws,” Holden wrote.
The Department of Social Services/Homeless Services confirmed that Carter and Smith are sisters.
But a rep insisted in a statement that there’s no nepotism or favoritism, saying that Homeless Administrator Carter recuses herself from any contracts involving her sister Valerie Smith’s Westhab firm.
“As part of our shared mission to serve and support vulnerable New Yorkers, we greatly value our long-standing partnership with not-for-profit provider-partner Westhab. We rely on exceptional provider partners like Westhab to provide access to quality care and support for New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, and through this partnership, we are proud to report that we have been able to help thousands of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness stabilize their lives and placed more than 800 individuals in permanent housing last year alone,” the statement said.
“DSS-DHS follows strict policy and ensures compliance with all COIB and related rules and regulations, which means that the DHS Administrator had no role in the selection of Westhab as a partner through the competitive request for proposal process. Administrator Carter has always recused herself from any and all matters pertaining to the organization’s work with DSS-DHS.”
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Carter as the administrator of the homeless services, a position maintained under successor Mayor Eric Adams.
Westhab declined to comment. Smith had no immediate comment.
Smith previously worked on homeless issues for the Acacia Network and Covenant House, according to her LinkedIn page.
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