Bloomberg shelter comments draw activist ire

Mayor Michael Bloomberg was criticized by activists for the homeless Thursday after saying city residents were spending longer periods in shelters because it was a "more pleasurable experience" than in the past.

Bloomberg, responding to a Wall Street Journal report that homeless families with children had spent 30 percent more time in shelters last year than in 2010, credited improvements in the city's shelters.

He called the shelters' condition under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani "an abomination."

"We have made our shelter system so much better that, unfortunately, when people are in it, or, fortunately, depending on what your objective is, it is a much more pleasurable experience than they ever had before," he said during an unrelated news conference.

Mary Brosnahan, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, called Bloomberg's comments "shocking and offensive."

"His failed policies are the major factor leading to the record shelter population this summer," Brosnahan said in a statement. "Blaming homeless families and suggesting they are luxuriating in 'pleasurable' accommodations shows just how badly the mayor is out of touch."

Bloomberg spokeswoman Samantha Levine said the city's street homelessness has dropped by more than 25 percent since 2005.