October 25, 2023 (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless issued the following joint statement responding to reporting that the City plans to create tent cities for recent asylum seekers and other new arrivals: “Passing out tents as winter approaches is not only a mockery of the City’s legal and moral obligation to provide safe shelter to people without homes, but it will put lives in danger. People freezing to death on the streets is the exact nightmare that the Right to Shelter was designed to prevent. “Make no mistake, when the Mayor and Governor talk about rolling back the Right to Shelter, this is what they mean: relegating desperate people – long-time New Yorkers and newcomers alike – to sleeping on sidewalks, in parks, and in other public spaces across the city, exposed to the elements. “There is simply no need for the Mayor to throw in the towel like this when lives are at stake and Governor Hochul’s plan to resettle new arrivals throughout New York State is finally starting to take shape. We have repeatedly put forward suggestions for how to meet these challenges that the Mayor and Governor must fully embrace if we are to ensure that new arrivals and homeless New Yorkers are adequately protected.” Background Earlier this month, religious leaders, organized labor, and advocates launched a new coalition to defend the Right to Shelter in New York. Members of the newly-formed New York Shelter for All in Need Equally Coalition — or NY SANE Coalition — came together at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church to discuss humane and sustainable solutions to meet this moment, pledged to sign a potential amicus brief in the ongoing lawsuit over the Right to Shelter, and signed letters to Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul urging them to not undermine the City’s long-standing Right to Shelter for all homeless individuals and families. In September, Legal Aid, the Coalition for the Homeless and more than 100 other organizations from around New York State representing advocates, services providers, and faith groups issued a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul urging her to develop a comprehensive statewide decompression and resettlement plan for the new arrivals and to immediately prioritize deploying state resources to ensure sufficient temporary housing capacity for new arrivals and other unhoused New Yorkers. In July, Legal Aid and the Coalition for the Homeless also called on the City to advance a variety of reforms to increase shelter capacity.
