Rudy Giuliani hated the City's long-standing right to shelter law, so did Michael Bloomberg. While those two mayors failed to undermine the City's obligation to provide shelter to all homeless New Yorkers, Eric Adams is determined to succeed where they did not: On Tuesday, Adams announced he is pursuing legal action to weaken the City's legally mandated right to shelter policy, the result of a 1980s consent decree.
In a letter to a New York judge, his administration asked for the authority to deny housing to single adults and families without children whenever the City "lacks the resources and capacity to establish and maintain sufficient shelter sites, staffing, and security to provide safe and appropriate shelter."
In a statement, Adams stressed that his administration is "in no way seeking to end of [sic] the right to shelter," despite the fact that his request, if granted, would result in untold numbers of people being turned away from a bed. "Given that we're unable to provide care for an unlimited number of people and are already overextended, it is in the best interest of everyone, including those seeking to come to the United States, to be upfront that New York City cannot single-handedly provide care to everyone crossing our border," he wrote.
Adams—who recently made some false claims about how many hotels were housing migrants, and whose spokesperson blamed the arrival of asylum seekers on "a network of activists" who are "luring" people to New York City "with false promises"—concluded, "Our city has done more to support asylum seekers than any other city in the nation, but the unfortunate reality is that the city has extended itself further than its resources will allow."
In a joint statement, the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless sharply criticized Adams's move. "The Administration’s request to suspend the long-established State constitutional right that protects our clients from the elements is not who we are as a city," they wrote. "New Yorkers do not want to see anyone, including asylum seekers, relegated to the streets. We will vigorously oppose any motion from this Administration that seeks to undo these fundamental protections that have long defined our city.”
This news also did not land well with City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who called the mayor's move "beyond disturbing." "Instead of solely focusing efforts on emergency shelter space and taking away essential safety protections, this Administration should pursue readily available solutions that can reduce homelessness, including adequate investments in eviction prevention, housing vouchers, agency staffing, and affordable housing development that are currently missing from its proposed budget," she wrote.
As for those solutions, our mayor isn't a fan of those either. On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Adams is opposing a slate of City Council bills that are meant to help move people more quickly out of the City's shelter system and into permanent housing. One of those bills would get rid of an onerous rule that requires people to stay in shelters for 90 days before they become eligible for a housing voucher. But getting rid of the 90-day requirement, Adams told the Times, would add “billions onto the backs of New York taxpayers." In unrelated news, the NYPD is expected to spend $740 million in overtime alone this year.
And some other links for your Wednesday:
- Via Politico: "Non-police response teams are still handling only a fraction of the city's 911 calls about a mental health crisis, according to new data shared first with POLITICO. Between July and December, the city's B-HEARD pilot program handled just under 16 percent of the mental health crises called into 911 in the areas where it operates, according to the data. It is the same share of calls B-HEARD handled in the 2022 fiscal year, which ended June 30."
- *eyes emoji*
- "Court Officers Told Jurors Not To Discuss Cases During Deliberations, Says Grand Jury Foreman"
- MSG's James Dolan continues to be James Dolan.
- And East Hampton officials continue to hate…dancing?
- Maybe we should tax the rich? From the New York Times: "'I love saying that I'm trailer trash just because I like to see how people will respond. But honestly, it would technically be a prefab house,' Ms. Forbes said. Her primary residence is on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and she also has a place in Bridgehampton."
- Donald Trump's criminal trial stemming from hush money payments he made to Stormy Daniels will start right in the middle of primary season, which will be fun.
- And finally, Martin Shkreli is now living in Queens with his sister and is apparently having a hard time meeting his community service requirements. (If you work at Hour Children, the Queens nonprofit where Shkreli is supposed to be spending 20 hours each month, get in touch!)
