August 24, 2023 (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless issued the following joint statement in response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s address on asylum seekers: “We agree with Governor Hochul’s call on the Biden Administration to immediately address the need for new arrivals to secure work authorization, and for additional resources in the form of funding and sites for emergency shelters. “However, given the political gridlock in Washington stymieing a national solution, more State support is urgently needed now to prevent people from being left to languish on local streets as the constitutional provisions on which the right to shelter is based apply to the State as well as the City.” Background: Earlier this month, 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. The next court conference in Callahan v. Carey is scheduled for September 18, 2023, at 2:15 PM before New York State Supreme Court Judge Erika Edwards. The courtroom is located at 60 Centre Street – Part 10, Room 412 in Manhattan. Legal Aid and others will hold a media availability for press outside the courthouse following the conference. Please RSVP with Redmond Haskins at rhaskins@legal-aid.org if you plan to attend.
