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It’s the worst possible time, advocates say, to be cutting homeless services. A record-shattering 39,000 people now sleep in city homeless shelters every night. Yet homeless advocates say Governor David Paterson’s proposed budget would cut homeless services by $104 million.

"This is both the worst year for homelessness that the city has ever seen, and the worst budget cuts proposed by any governor in New York’s history," said Coalition for the Homeless Senior Policy Analyst Patrick Markee.

"This is the last thing we need right now. What we need are more resources to take care of this record number of homeless people," said Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Mary Brosnahan.

On Tuesday, the Coalition for the Homeless released its annual State of the Homeless report, drawing attention to budget cuts it says could be catastrophic by shifting tens of millions of dollars in costs to the city, which faces deficits of its own.

The net result advocates say is that shelters could be forced to close, and more homeless New Yorkers forced into the streets. Adding to the problem is the uncertainty surrounding the governorship. The state budget is due April 1st, but Albany is somewhat preoccupied.

"Despite whatever dramatic backdrop there is in Albany, lives are at stake here. And we need to make sure that these cuts don’t go through. Whether it’s David Paterson, or Lieutenant Governor Ravitch, we need to get that message out," Brosnahan said.

State budget officials say the Coalition’s figures are misleading; in part because the governor has also proposed increasing state public assistance by $52 million.

The coalition says Paterson's plan to make up the gap essentially amounts to charging rent to homeless adults staying at shelters.

The city's Department of Homeless Services also slammed the budget, releasing a statement saying:

“The proposed state budget cuts fail the test of fairness and would be damaging towards the progress New York City is making in addressing homelessness. In a city with a legal right to shelter, such critical cuts would essentially be an unfunded mandate. DHS firmly opposes this proposed budget."

Whether Governor Paterson’s proposed cuts ultimately take effect will be decided in budget negotiations with state legislators -- a process that's currently taking a backseat to the political drama.