Steven banks

Hired as someone who had worked as a tireless advocate for homeless New Yorkers, Banks wound up overseeing a historic rise in New York City's homeless shelter population.

Steven Banks, Commissioner of Social Services, discussed the challenges of the past year with us.

A combination of lax state oversight and rent law loopholes mean landlords could have a field day.

And the city is reviving a program aimed at preventing domestic violence in shelters.

He called the report a "political media hit."

The city is supposed to cease using cluster site shelters over the next three years.

Of 101 shelter apartments examined by the Comptroller's Office 88 had hazards such as rats and mold.

"This should never happen..." he wrote in a letter to City Hall.