NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 04: A person in economic difficulty holds a homemade sign asking for money along a Manhattan street on December 4, 2013 in New York City. According to a recent study by the by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, New York City’s homeless population increased by 13 percent at the beginning of this year. Despite an improving local economy, as of last January an estimated 64,060 homeless people were in shelters and on the street in New York. Only Los Angeles had a larger percentage increase than New York for large cities. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)