New York, NY—Yesterday, the Adams administration submitted a revised court filing seeking to suspend Right to Shelter protections during states of emergencies for both asylum seekers and longer-term shelter residents.
Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition:
“New York City’s Right to Shelter laws are an essential component of how our city cares for our most vulnerable populations and ensures the health and safety of every unhoused family or individual. Mayor Adams’ callous disregard for the experiences and hardships of unhoused people is clear in his continued attacks on the Right to Shelter protections. It’s obvious that his disdain for these longstanding protections has a lot more to do with who is currently seeking shelter rather than how many people are in shelters. Rather than gutting this critical policy, the Mayor could save the city billions of dollars by expanding access to CityFHEPS vouchers. This would move New Yorkers out of the overburdened shelter system and into permanent housing, and help individuals get on the road to self-sufficiency. It is time that the Mayor started working towards solutions that actually support people in building their lives, instead of tearing people down and leaving them in the street.”