Out-of-Touch Reality Star Believes the Homeless Live Comfortably
Jade Shenker, a New York City realtor featured on Owning Manhattan on Netflix, was stopped for a TikTok interview that left her at the center of criticism for her out-of-touch comments about the life of the homeless in NYC.
The Ohana NYC TikTok channel interviewed Shenker and posted the interview on their channel, letting the internet hear her tone-deaf comments about rent and the comfort levels of people who are homeless and left to live on the streets.
Owning Manhattan is a reality show on Netflix that focuses on SERHANT, a real estate company headed by Ryan Serhant. The real estate agents at SERHANT, one of which is Shenker, work in luxury real estate, and they provide a look into the kind of properties that the average person won’t be able to afford.
Shenker Doesn’t Understand the Struggles the Homeless Face
The particular comment that left Shenker facing backlash came when she was asked how much someone needs to make—at minimum—to live comfortably in NYC. Her response was, “I feel like the homeless people on the streets are pretty comfortable. So, you don’t have to make anything.”
To make matters worse, this response came after Shenker estimated that her own monthly rent is $8,000, but that her boyfriend pays it, leaving commenters on TikTok expressing disbelief at Shenker’s interview and saying that even if she was making a joke, they didn’t find it funny.
Homelessness in NYC
The Coalition for the Homeless has a website that shares basic facts about homelessness, and one of their pages looks at homelessness in NYC specifically. This means you can get an idea of what homelessness in NYC actually looks like with the help of the statistics this organization has put together. Such statistics include:
- In May 2026 alone, it was estimated that over 350,000 people in the city were without homes based on the number of people who slept in shelters and guesses at how many slept in public places along with those who temporarily stayed in the homes of others.
- A Housing Vacancy survey found a rate of less than 1% vacancy for affordable apartments.
- Homeless adults have higher rates of serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and other severe health problems, which often makes it more difficult to get out of homelessness.
- Homelessness impacts family members as well, especially children, who made up 65% of those staying in shelters in May 2026.
Many viewers commented that they hope that Shenker’s interview was a skit or satire, but there’s no indication to confirm or deny if this is the case. Either way, it’s a good reminder that many of us aren’t aware of how difficult life can be when you don’t have a home.
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