July 31, 2023 (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless issued the following joint statement in response to the City forcing new arrivals to languish on local streets: “There is no dispute that the City has a legal obligation to find an appropriate placement for anyone in need of shelter in a timely fashion. Denying new arrivals placement and forcing people to languish on local streets is cruel and runs afoul of a range of court orders and local laws. “The multiple stories and photos that have circulated on social media and reports from our clients who are stuck without shelter is both heartbreaking and maddening, and should this continue, we will have no choice but to file litigation to enforce the law. “To increase shelter capacity, we implore the City to implement the various policies that we have called for since last summer, such as providing real case management for new arrivals; expanding CityFHEPS to more New Yorkers than those served by the current narrow definition; correcting understaffing of City offices charged with processing subsidies that enable households to move from shelter to permanent housing; rebuilding the New York City Commission on Human Rights’ Income Discrimination Unit to hold landlords, real estate agents, and brokerage agents accountable for unlawfully denying placements to housing voucher holders; among others. “It is also imperative for Governor Hochul to exercise some semblance of leadership by immediately providing resources including facilities, funding, staff, rental vouchers, and overall coordination to help guarantee that all in need of shelter are properly accommodated. “And lastly, we call on President Biden for additional resources and for his Administration to grant immediate work authorization to our newly arrived neighbors.”
