Posted on May 18, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone Following outcry from both advocates and City officials, the State announced on Friday that it would not withhold funding from 16 shelters. The Coalition and other groups had denounced the State’s earlier threat to cut off vital aid to shelters – a move that was ostensibly intended to spur the City to address code violations in City shelters, but that in fact would have hindered the City’s previously announced plans to make the necessary improvements. The Coalition continues to call on the State and City to more effectively work together to help all homeless New Yorkers, and to make the shelter system safe for the roughly 60,000 men, women and children who will sleep there tonight. Josh Dawsey wrote about the State’s reversal for The Wall Street Journal: The state’s Office of Temporary Disability Assistance said Friday it was in talks with the city, and the mayor’s administration had promised to submit a plan by next Tuesday for correcting the shelters. Therefore, the state would no longer withhold funding. “Throughout this process, OTDA’s ultimate goal was not to withhold funding, but rather to ensure that egregious issues at City homeless shelters that put the health and safety of New York’s most vulnerable citizens at risk are resolved,” Sharon Devine, the office’s executive deputy commissioner, said in a statement. Before the state’s decision was announced, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city was already working to fix the shelters, which had dozens of violations, by sending in emergency teams to address violations. City Hall mobilized elected officials and advocates across the city to pressure the state into not withholding the money. Homelessness has risen under Mr. de Blasio’s administration to about 57,000 people in shelters, up about 4,000 from when Mayor Michael Bloomberg left office. The mayor said earlier this month he would dedicate an additional $100 million in the upcoming budget to homelessness. “We are happy to see the State reverse their decision to withhold funding from shelters housing thousands of children, and we thank the dedicated elected officials and advocates who stood up to protect these vulnerable New Yorkers,” said Ishanee Parikh, a spokeswoman for the mayor.
