New York, NY —
REPORTER: With a new subway ad campaign, the Bloomberg administration is discouraging New Yorkers from giving money to panhandlers.
Mayor Bloomberg says it's hard to resist the urge to give.
BLOOMBERG: You just have to be able to look the person in the eye or turn away, but the issue is not just to do that. That's not enough. It's to pick up the phone and call 311. That's what will really do something for that person.
REPORTER: Bloomberg says a call to 311 will result in an outreach team being dispatched to try to assist the homeless person. A caller can request a call-back if they want to know how the intervention went.
The new ads read, "Give the homeless the kind of change they can really use."
Below the slogan is an explanation of the city's efforts to move the homeless into housing.