City Councilor Joaquín Baca is threatening to block millions in new Gateway Center funding unless Mayor Tim Keller’s administration shows clear plans and real results from the $70 million-plus homelessness project.
The ultimatum follows years of cost overruns, delays and missteps that have kept the Gateway’s main facility mostly closed since 2019, even after it took most of the program’s taxpayer dollars. In that time, Albuquerque’s homeless population grew from 2,394 people in 2023 to 2,740 in 2024, despite the city pouring millions into the program.
“I got tired of funding stuff and having no idea, and living Downtown, I see the problem get worse,” Baca told CityDesk after voting to defer $3.6 million in Gateway expansion funding two weeks ago at a City Council meeting…