The city’s new policy of turning away some families seeking shelter at night is coming under fire from a City Council member of Brooklyn, Bill de Blasio, who says he’s troubled by the idea.

On October 12, the city began refusing to house families who sought shelter at night after previously being found ineligible for homeless shelter services because they had other housing options available. The commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services, Robert Hess, yesterday reported a 46% drop in the number of families attempting to find a place to stay after business hours. “The new policy has made a dramatic difference in our ability to help families who have no other housing options,” Mr. Hess said in a statement. “We have the support and services in place to help those families who are most vulnerable through the shelter system.”

Mr. de Blasio, who will be the chairman at a hearing today on the new policy, said he is not convinced the city’s methods for determining whether a family is eligible for homeless shelter are working consistently.

“It begs a lot of bigger questions about how careful we are being, particularly with vulnerable families,” he said.