NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Despite hundreds of millions of dollars being directed toward handling New York City's homelessness problem, it appears to be getting worse.

As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, one expert blames Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Now that it is turning cold, the homeless on the city streets seem more visible – and more heartbreaking. One woman was seen sleeping on a bus stop bench, hoping the thick plastic sheeting would shield her from the wind. Others just huddled under layers of worn blankets or looking for handouts.

Those are the homeless who are seen, but what most New Yorkers do not see are the homeless families whose needs are running up a huge tab. Mayor de Blasio has increased spending on the homeless by 60 percent to a whopping $1.6 billion since he took office.

The number of homeless has risen to a record 60,686.

"They didn't move the needle at all," said Robert Mascali, the director of homeless operations for former mayors Rudolph Giuliani and Bloomberg. "It's amazing that the numbers have not dropped."

Mascali blamed it on the more liberal policies of the de Blasio administration.

"The rate of acceptance is way up," he said.

In 2013, the last year Bloomberg was mayor, the acceptance rate was 39 percent of families seeking shelter who got space. In 2014, the first year under de Blasio, the shelter acceptance rate soared to 48 percent, and this year – 2016 – the acceptance rate through September was 51 percent.

But sources blamed the 2016 numbers on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration, which eased eligibility requirements a year ago.

CBS2's Kramer asked Human Resources Commissioner Steve Banks, who took over the troubled Department of Homeless Services about a year ago, about the increases. She noted the 9 percent jump from the last year of the Bloomberg administration to the first year of the de Blasio administration.

"The issues in the shelter system have built up for many years. There was a 115 percent increase in homelessness from 1994 to 2014, and that's one of the reasons why the mayor asked us to conduct a review of all homeless services," Banks said.

The regulations making it easier to get into shelters were revoked by the state last month. City officials said it will mean fewer people getting into the system.

About 3 percent of those getting shelter in New York City are from elsewhere.