Over half a million New Yorkers live in the city’s 334 public housing developments—including the Whitman and Ingersoll projects by Auburn—or rent private apartments with federal subsidies. The demand for cheap housing far exceeds the supply. More than 80,000 schoolchildren have been homeless at some point this year (a number that will surpass 100,000 by 2016). Many are doubled up with relatives; others, like Dasani, are living in shelters.
