The non-profit that’s recently been criticized for its lackluster outreach to the homeless in commuter rail stations has a much larger contract to provide the same service in the subways, which it acquired without having to compete against other providers.

In 2014, the New York City Department of Homeless Services contracted with the Bowery Residents’ Committee to help homeless people sleeping on subways and get them into shelters. A spokesman for the department, Isaac McGinn, said the contract was not put out for bid but was "rather awarded via required/authorized source." He explained the BRC already had a contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority before the city took over and the two agencies agreed to jointly fund it.

The contract was subsequently renewed in 2017, in the end earning the group $64 million over a six-year period, according to documents from the city comptroller's office and information provided by the Department of Homeless Services. The renewal, McGinn said, was not dependent on any performance metrics.

He added that the contract ends next June and that the next one will be put out for bid, adding that BRC is an “essential” partner in addressing the city’s homeless crisis. 

“Through our unprecedented investments we have already brought more than 2,200 New Yorkers in off the streets and subways and into transitional and permanent housing programs, including more than 600 out of the subways specifically,” McGinn said.

Shams Tarek, a spokesman for the MTA, said that his agency contributed $3 million annually to fund outreach efforts in the subway system, but stressed that this was a DHS and not an MTA contract and that his agency didn't play a role in the procurement process.

“Vendors that receive public funds must be held accountable to the public,” he said.

Last week, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released an audit of a separate contract that BRC has with the MTA to do homeless outreach in Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal, and Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North stations in the city. It concluded that BRC workers spent more time in their office than doing outreach and that they sometimes ignored homeless clients knocking on the doors of their office.

BRC did not respond to a request for comment.