June 8, 2023 NEW YORK, NY — The following statement can be attributed to Dave Giffen, Executive Director with Coalition for the Homeless: “The air quality crisis hitting New York City is another reminder that safe shelter saves lives. As worrying as this week’s unsafe air is, the situation would be far worse if the tens of thousands of people without homes in our city were not protected by New York’s landmark Right to Shelter and instead had to face this disaster exposed to toxic air on the streets. It is yet more confirmation that the Mayor’s extraordinary attempt to weaken the Right to Shelter is dangerous and badly misguided. In fact, the Mayor should be focusing on providing even more safe spaces for those currently sleeping on our streets.”
