New Laws Would Empower Tenants Caught In Three-Quarter Housing ‘Black Market’ Posted on October 7, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in Gothamist Despite Mayor de Blasio’s recent efforts, about ten thousand New Yorkers are estimated to be living in overcrowded and hazardous three-quarter houses—apartments, primarily in central Brooklyn, where landlords have been known to cram addicts, recently r ..Read More
Medical Treatment Should Be My Choice, Not My Landlord’s Posted on October 6, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in Gotham Gazette The landlord gave him a choice: go back to using heroin or be kicked out onto the streets. “Do what you do,” the landlord told him. So to keep a roof over his head, after nine months clean and sober, he got high. The landlord let him stay. Strange as this ..Read More
NYC Worries Federal Rules Hiking Rents Could Hit 56,000 Low-Income Families Hard Posted on October 5, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Daily News New federal rules could hike the rent for 56,000 poor New York families by hundreds of dollars a month, officials said Wednesday. The Obama administration is hoping to tackle economic segregation by overhauling rules for Section 8 vouchers — subsidizing more ..Read More
Ending Homelessness in Manhattan is Harder Than Keeping Good Data Posted on October 6, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in amNewYork You walk past a homeless person and you have a few options — ignore someone obviously in need or try to help: hand them a sandwich or candy bar, a dollar or two. But there is another way to help. If you think a homeless person needs assistance, you can call ..Read More
NYC Makes Affordable Housing Lottery Process Easier for Homeless After Lowering Credit Score Bar Posted on October 4, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Daily News The city has revamped its affordable housing lottery process to help give homeless applicants a leg up, and also added new rules that ban denying any application over bad credit. Officials are allowing homeless applicants to be considered with a credit score a ..Read More
Homelessness Hits New Record High, City Says it Could Be Worse Posted on September 30, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in Gothamist The homelessness rate in New York City reached a new record this month. On Wednesday, September 28th, 59,948 adults and children slept in city shelters. The official count is expected to hit 60,000 in a matter of days, up from 51,470 in January 2014, when Mayo ..Read More
Homelessness in NYC Hits Record High With Nearly 60,000 People in Shelters Posted on September 30, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Huffington Post Homelessness in New York City has hit a record high, but government officials say those figures could have been much worse. The number of people living in homeless shelters operated by the Department of Homeless Services is about to surpass 60,000 people for t ..Read More
Leaders Rally Against Proposal That Could Hike Rents for Low-Income Residents Posted on September 28, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in NY1 Local leaders are rallying against a proposal that could hike rents for low-income residents. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is considering a new method to calculate how much households will get for rent. The Section 8 program helps low-i ..Read More
Homeless Shelter Opponents Pick the Wrong Target Posted on September 27, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in City Limits Every New Yorker is aware of how the city’s homeless crisis has worsened in the last decade. We all see it, and everyone wants the problem solved – no one more so than homeless people themselves. This is a city-wide problem that derives from the severe lac ..Read More