The destruction of homeless encampments across New York City, a hallmark policy of Mayor Eric Adams' administration, will be halted by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

Mamdani said he will focus on getting people experiencing homelessness off the streets by finding places for them to live.

Data shows few were placed in housing after sweeps

Mamdani said the practice of destroying encampments and carting individuals' possessions away will be a thing of the past once he takes the oath of office.

He said the policy, which cost millions and used a multi-agency task force to break up the encampments, was not very successful.

Data shows that few people were actually removed from the street and given places to live. NYPD statistics obtained by CBS News New York show of the 3,676 encampments visited by police so far this year, 2,046 were successfully cleaned out, but only 117 people were placed in housing.

Since the sweeps began in March 2022, only 513 people were placed in accommodations, according to the statistics.

"If you are not connecting homeless New Yorkers to the housing that they so desperately need, then you cannot deem anything you're doing to be a success," Mamdani said at an event Thursday.

How Mamdani's Department of Community Safety will help

Sources tell CBS News New York that Mamdani hopes to use his new Department of Community Safety to address the issue.

The department will employ social workers and other trained professionals to convince people experiencing homelessness that the street is not a good place to live, as well as find shelter for them.

"We are going to take an approach that understands its mission is connecting those New Yorkers to housing, whether it's supportive housing, whether it's rental housing, whatever kind of housing it is," Mamdani said. "Because what we have seen is the treatment of homelessness as if it is a natural part of living in this city, when in fact it's more often a reflection of a political choice being made time and time again."

Advocates say they would like to see a program that includes an assortment of options, such as housing vouchers, supportive housing and permanent placements.