He Mayor Eric Adamshas admitted time and time again that New York City is running out of options to continue weathering the shelter crisiswhich has become more acute in the Big Apple with the avalanche of new arrivals in recent months.
And in the midst of complaints and claims from parents who reject the plan of the Municipal Administration to temporarily locate migrants in gyms of 20 schools in New York, given the lack of places in the shelters to burst, political leaders of the City launched a proposal to deal with the situation.
With figures revealing that the emergency shelters and hotels they no longer supply, with 80,000 homeless in the system, 41,000 of them new migrantsand more than 4,000 arriving each week, the Brooklyn borough president presented Wednesday a plan for the City and the State to solve the problem with fund actions.
The politician of Dominican origin assured that despite the deep housing need in the Big Apple, which dates back to before the current migrants seeking asylum arrived, neither Mayor Adams nor previous “they did nothing” to solve itfor which he urged the Municipal Council to instruct the president to use the power of the government and place homeless in private sector apartments. In the same way, he requested that the burgomaster issue a new executive order that declare a public emergency for homelessness, and not only because of the arrival of migrants, since the population of the shelters exceeds the threshold of 0.5% of the population of the city.
Reynoso also warned that according to data from the latest Housing and Vacancy Survey of the City’s Housing Preservation and Development Department (HPD), around 89,000 rent stabilized apartments (more than the current number of people in shelters) and tens of thousands more units at market rate, are empty. In addition, nearly 94 million square feet of commercial buildings in Manhattan are available for rent.
“Right now, 80,000 New Yorkers, about two-thirds of whom are families with children, live in city shelters.. More than 41,400 asylum seekers, including some counted for shelter beds, are in the care of the city, and there are these private sector apartments, with which the crisis can be resolved,” he said. the president of brooklyn explaining that the basis of the plan is to move from shelters to apartments, first families and individuals who have been in shelters for up to 534 and 800 days, to vacate them so that there is space for new arrivals. “Let’s not deny the crisis. We have to find housing for all of them, but we’re putting them in gyms, trying to put them in cages at Rikers Island. Those are not solutions, what we are proposing are solutions”.
Reynoso criticized lack of support from the federal government to face the crisis, in which they have only disbursed $30 million, and the City has spent more than $1,000 million and the State has given another $1,000.
“The president has to do something. This is a national crisis and it needs a national solution and it requires real action. We can’t keep pretending that nothing is happening, because that’s going to make things worse. We all have to work together on this,” added the Democratic leader, who also urged the Governor Hochul to promote an executive action that guarantees that all the municipalities of the State can begin to receive migrants to help fight the problem.
The Ombudsman, Jumaane Williamsjoined the proposal and stressed that the problem of lack of shelter is not something new that began with the arrival of the new migrants, but that it comes from a long time ago, so it is urgent to solve it once and for all with root actions from all sectors.
“I don’t know if President Biden is sleeping or on vacation, but you need to wake up and do something now. And at the City level, you don’t need to change the Sanctuary City status or change the shelter rules. We have to find solutions,” Williams said.
The president of Brooklyn, Antonio Reynoso, in his announcement/ Photo: Edwin Martínez
Latina Councilwoman Alexa Aviles called for new immigrants not to be stigmatized or used in the city to promote xenophobia or anti-immigrant campaigns, and asked that both the Council, the City, the State and the federal government put their forces to end the humanitarian crisis that already exists in the Big Apple, not only with newcomers but with vulnerable communities.
“We are in crisis and it is a crisis that is getting worse because our communities are already suffering from many disparities. We have to uphold our standards and values to treat everyone with respect and dignity, but we cannot do it alone,” said the councilor. “We demand actions from the federal government and the state government and promote plans with compassion and creativity and there are things that are going to make us all a little bit uncomfortable, but we must work together to solve this.”
Councilwoman Rita Joseph insisted that the Brooklyn Borough President’s proposed actions to resolve the crisis would allow tens of thousands of vacant apartments to be home to homeless New Yorkers and reiterated that the initial preference would be for those who have been in city shelters for more time.
“is follow the line. Those who have been there for years would be the first to receive those apartments and thus space could be made in the city’s shelters for people and families who are arriving in search of asylum and not be in this current crisis,” said the Brooklyn politician. .
Parents like Simona Lopezwho attended the announcement of Reynoso’s plan, expressed concern that Mayor Adams will insist on his plan to use space in schools to house newcomers in the absence of shelters.
“They have to look for other solutions. It’s not that I’m rejecting newcomers, no. I am also an immigrant, but I am afraid that at the school where I have my two daughters, who are very young, unknown men will suddenly start walking., of which we don’t know much,” said the concerned mother. “We have to help those who come, but giving them housing, taking them out of shelters to safer spaces, but not putting them with our children.”
On the use of gyms in the public schools of the Big Apple to take homeless people, although yesterday the City moved a group of asylum seekers from PS 188 in Coney Island to a location in Manhattan, The Mayor assured that there are about twenty that continue to be considered as an emergency measure, but clarified that they are separated from the educational plants.
Simona López, Brooklyn mother who opposes the use of gyms for shelter / Edwin Martínez
“The 20 gyms that we’re looking at, we haven’t made a final determination on all of the gyms, but the ones we’re looking at are separate from the actual school buildings.they are separate from the school buildings, they are not in the buildings where the schools are,” Adams said, while revealing that at this time it has been difficult for the City to find available spaces in hotels.
“Almost 50% of those hotel rooms are being occupied by immigrant asylum seekersthat we are paying… many of them go to prices that are too high for the taxpayers to pay and many of them are not suitable for housing or for migrants”, commented the mayor, who added that so far the City has helped some 65,000 asylum seekers.
After learning of the Brooklyn President’s proposal, the City Administration assured that the Mayor has long called for a decompression strategy at both the state and national levels so that New York City is not left alone to respond to a national crisis, and applauded that possible solutions are presented.
“Mayor Adams has made it clear that all options are on the table and he is hopeful that our elected officials will come up with long-term solutions rather than just finding roadblocks in housing migrants,” said Fabien Levy of the Office of the Mayor.
“More than 67,000 asylum seekers have gone through our intake system since last spring and our administration has used more than 150 sites, including hotels, shelters, office buildings and other places to provide shelter for migrants, as our goal It has been to ensure that no family is left sleeping on the streets,” added Levy.
Likewise, another spokesman for the Mayor’s Office responded to questions about the use of school gyms, saying that the plan has always been to “have emergency sites that only serve migrants for a very short period of time and only when the influx to our city is overwhelming.
The official added that migrants “come in and out of these sites as other more suitable spaces become available, and they have been used and will continue to be used as a last resort. As the Mayor has said, all options are on the table when it comes to the placement of asylum seekers, and sadly, all city services will be affected.”
The spokesperson for the Municipal Administration also stated that anyone who says that the migrant transfers are due to some protests “is speaking without authority. These sites are always intended for very short-term use. When we find an alternative location, we move the new arrivals.”
Brooklyn President’s Proposal Points:
- Pass legislation from City Council directing the Mayor to use the power of government to solve the homeless crisis through the private sector, including the arrival of new immigrants as an emergency
- Direct the Mayor and City to rent market apartments to house homeless families to create space in shelters for newcomers
- Require apartment owners to prioritize rentals of their properties to the City, at market rate to locate the homeless
- Prohibit refusal to rent apartments to the City during an emergency crisis.
- Issue a new emergency executive order by Mayor Adams declaring a public emergency for homelessness, and not just for the arrival of migrants, as the shelter population exceeds the 0.5% population threshold from the city.
- Seek state assistance from Governor Hochul to address the root of the crisis
- To exercise through the Governor of New York the state power to provide solutions by virtue of its declaration of emergency, issued on May 10, 2023
- Offer New York City the assistance of state personnel and the use of state facilities and suspend Executive Law, local laws that other municipal governments around New York City have invoked to avoid taking on the humanitarian crisis
- The shelter crisis in numbers
- 80,000 homeless people currently live in shelters in the city
- 41,000 of them are newcomers
- 4,000 new migrants are arriving every week in NYC
- 89,000 rent-stabilized apartments and tens of thousands more market-rate units sit vacant in NYC
- 94 million square feet of commercial buildings in Manhattan are available for rent
- 800 days and more have many homeless people living in shelters
- 20 public school gymnasiums are being considered as temporary emergency shelter sites
- $30 million has only been disbursed for the crisis by the federal government
- $1 billion has been spent by the City
- $1,000 million has been given by the State
- 50% of hotel rooms are inhabited by migrants helped by the City
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