Paul Bettany’s First Film, About a Homeless New York Couple Posted on November 12, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in WNYC Actor Paul Bettany discusses “Shelter,” the first film he wrote and directed. The movie centers around the lives of Hannah and Tahir who come from two different worlds, but are now both homeless on the streets of New York. Bettany told Leonard that ..Read More
Criticism and Litigation Over Renewal Clause in Rent-Freeze Program for Older New Yorkers Posted on November 10, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in The New York Times As New York City officials encourage older tenants to take advantage of an underused program that freezes their rents, they have also been cutting off participants who fail to renew on time, advocates say. The Rent Freeze Program allows tenants 62 and older to ..Read More
Artwalk NY Honors Richard Gere and Alec Baldwin Posted on November 11, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in ArtInfo Each night in New York, some 60,000 people sleep in shelters. Aiding the fight to eliminate homelessness, the Coalition for the Homeless annually hosts Artwalk NY, an art auction benefitting the nonprofit advocacy group. This year’s event, held on November 1 ..Read More
Robin Hood Honors Three Heroes at Annual Breakfast Posted on November 10, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Market Wired Robin Hood, New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization, celebrated its 2015 Heroes Award at an event at Cipriani in midtown Manhattan this morning. Robin Hood honored three non-profits — iMentor, Coalition for the Homeless and Lawyers Fo ..Read More
NYPD Commissioner Bratton Says Panhandlers Would Move on if They Didn’t Get Money — But Advocate Says ‘He’s Mistaken’ Posted on November 10, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Daily News Police Commissioner Bill Bratton offered a radical solution Monday for those offended by New York’s homeless: Rely on your common cents. Speaking to reporters at City Hall, Bratton said panhandlers would disappear if people stopped plunking coins in their cu ..Read More
VA Enters Stretch on Goals for Homelessness, Claims Backlog Posted on November 10, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in The New York Times Six years ago, the Obama administration set the ambitious goal of ending veteran homelessness in 2015 and ending the backlog in disability claims. It appears likely the Department of Veterans Affairs will miss both targets even though it has made progress. The ..Read More
Can New York Save Itself from Out-of-Control Rents? Posted on November 8, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Vice New York City has a problem that isn’t unprecedented or unique, but it’s undeniably a problem: Too many people want to live here. As a result, the vacancy rate has dropped to 1 percent in Manhattan, and the average price of a rental in that borough ..Read More
Lawsuit Could Change Fate of New York City’s Homeless Youth Posted on November 8, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Newsweek Amid widespread discussion of New York City’s homelessness crisis that has pulled down Mayor Bill de Blasio’s approval ratings, according to polls, an ongoing lawsuit seeks to overhaul the city’s policies governing a particularly vulnerable d ..Read More
New York is for the Rich Only: “Inequality in Housing has Reached Dickensian Dimensions” Posted on November 7, 2015 by Jacquelyn Simone in Salon The Chinese restaurant across the street from me – one of the last, reasonably priced joints in the neighborhood – closed last weekend. Their lease was up for renewal and the rent increased from $5,000 a month to $25,000. Such an enormous jump isn’t unus ..Read More
